The Children Of fate
by Ben Myatt
Summary: The third sequel to "As long as she's happy." Davis is in a coma, thedigidestined have been captured, and thegateway to the dark ocean looks like it's gonna be opened sometime soon. all good fun, then!
1. prologue

Disclaimer: …No. I still don't own Digimon. Damn you.

The Children of Fate.

***************

By Ben Myatt.

********

Prologue:

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The snow lay deep and white on the surface of the digital world, as three people stayed alone on an abandoned battlefield. Only two of those people, however, were in any shape to be active. The third was lying on the snow, which was turning red around him, melting.

"Don't just stand there, help me!" yelled the first person, a young woman of about twenty-five, her brown hair frizzing out behind her in an auburn wave. She pressed a casualty absorbance pack onto the wound. The blood absorbed into the pack, as the woman injected a Syrette of Morphine into the young mans arm. The Deep wound across his chest made her feel ill, but she forced herself not to turn away.

"No-one can survive a wound like that, Jun!" replied the second, an older man, dressed in combat gear, empty holsters surrounding his form.

The woman gave him an angry look, her face reflecting impatience, tinged with hope. The skilled way she handled the medication showed her to be trained in the profession of saving lives.

"He's still alive right now! I might be able to save him! Help me, Goddammit!"

Her impatient tone finally got through the soldiers shock, and he moved next to her, dropping to his knees in the snow.

"What do you need me to do?"

She placed his hands on the casualty pack.

"Press this down. Keep the pressure on it, try and stem the flow of blood."

"Got it."

The mans voice betrayed him as a Londoner. In the snow, further around there were bodies of strange, deformed creatures. They didn't move. The Londoner had done his work well.

"Nick?" 

"Yeah?" 

"I'm gonna bind the pack to his chest. I need you to support him."

Nick lifted the young man on the ground up as Jun bound the Bandage around the casualty pack, securing it to the wounded mans chest.

"Jun?"

"What?"

"Is Davis gonna be… ok?"

Jun looked up into the Londoner's eyes. All she saw there was honesty, mingled with panic.

"I don't know, Nick. What I do know is that we need to be here. We need to stay here and help him. We need to do all we can."

The soldier felt a presence behind him. It didn't matter – he didn't have any weapons left anyway. He looked over his shoulder.

He wouldn't have needed the weapons anyway. The cloaked figure standing there holding an unconscious Veemon was familiar enough. The words formed in his mind without going through the messy business of his ears first.

_'Greetings, Soldier and Healer.'_

"Greetings, Guardian."

_'We have come to accompany you to the forge.'_

Nick sighed.

"Somehow I thought it would be something like that."

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The Shadowmon drove them hard through the night, never stopping, never resting. As the dawn broke, their hearts were heavy, and none more so than the beautiful girl at the head of the small group of Digidestined.

Hikari Kamiya had seen the man she loved cut down in single combat. The woman at the Head of the Shadowmon column had taken her longsword, and cut brutally across Davis's chest.

She knew that Davis might have died, but she couldn't bring herself to believe the possibility. She had to believe that he was alive – that he had survived that terrible wound.

"Kari?"

She turned to look at TK. Her friend's eyes were bright, tears shining in them. The empty scabbard across his back testified to their defeat. The blonde mans silver-coloured Katana had been taken away from him. It had never even been used.

Gatomon perched on Kari's shoulder, her slight increase in height allowing her to see over the heads of the Shadowmon.

"Don't even think about it, TK. We wouldn't be able to get away."

TK's eyes dropped, and Patomon settled down over his hat.

"Kari… About Davis."

"He can tell me himself, TK." Kari said in a low voice.

TK's eyes rose to hers again, and he nodded.

"Alright. We'll see him soon enough."

Whether TK Meant it in terms of life or death, Kari didn't know.

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	2. Chapter 1

PART 1: THE FADED LIGHT.

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Chapter 1:

********

 The house was small; it's faded wooden façade overlooking the white sand of the beach, from where the light sounds of the waves faded up towards him, like a sigh on the wind. 

Davis sat on the rock, and grinned into the sunset. He felt a sense of peace, a sense of belonging to this place. For no real reason, her put a hand to his chest, feeling like something was missing. 

Then he moved his hand up to the light brown stubble that covered his jaw. He knew that he should go inside and shave, but he couldn't seem to tear his vision away from that startlingly red sunset. The light played gently over his eyes, and strangely, he didn't even feel a sensation of discomfort. 

"Davis?"

He smiled as he heard her voice, and twisted his neck to look at her. She was outlined against the chipped white paint of the front of the house. Her chestnut hair, which she had allowed to grow long, drifted playfully across her shoulders as she strode across the beach towards him, barefoot in the warm sand.

"Hey."

"Hey. What are you doing out here?"

"Just watching the sun go down."

She sat on the rock next to him, and placed her hand on his. The twin rings, bands of plain gold, glittered in the fading light.

"I love you, Davis Motomiya."

"I love you too, Kari Motomiya."

=============================================================

He pulled the razor over the stubble, neatly trimming it away as he worked. Behind him, her heard the bathroom door open, and a delicious scent wafted in. Kari wrapped her arms around him, and clamped her hands over his eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Hmm… Avril Lavigne."

"Hey!"

"Oh. It's you. Just when I thought my luck was in."

She punched him lightly in the ribs, making him slip slightly with the razor, making a slight cut in the flesh of his chin.

"Ow!"

"Wuss."

"I didn't deserve that!"

"You deserve everything you get." His wife replied haughtily. 

He laughed, and wiped the blood off of his chin with a piece of tissue. Turning round to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You know you don't mean that."

"And why not?"

"I'm too adorable for you to get mad at."

She laughed, and he leaned in, gently kissing her on the mouth.

"Mmm. Very nice. If your dinners as good, I'll see what I can arrange for dessert."

"Ooh, I'm intrigued."

"It's nothing you ain't seen before, bub. Remember to lock Veemon out this time."

"Heh. Where is that rogue, anyway?"

"He's sitting down on the beach, I think he likes surf-gazing as much as you do."

"It's not as if I've got anything better to do." He teased.

She punched him in the ribs again, making him flinch, and jerk the razor away from his face before he could do any more damage to himself.

"Wipe yourself off, and get your ass in here. I don't want your carefully prepared dinner to spoil."

"Yes, Boss."

"Stop being so sarcastic, or I'll beat you up."

"Yes Boss."

She sighed in mock exasperation, and headed back out into the corridor that led to the dining room.

"Why do I have to put up with this stuff?"

=============================================================

The candlelight flickered playfully over the ceiling, as the pair sat down for their first private meal together as Husband and Wife. Out on the Beach, Veemon sat gazing moodily at the surf. Beside him, Gatomon was curled up on the rock, looking precisely like the cat that her form emulated. The blue Digimon picked up a pebble, and tossed it into the lapping waves.

"You know," Gatomon said without moving from her position. "That's a really irritating thing to do when someone's trying to nap."

He glanced over at her.

"You shouldn't really be napping at this time anyway. You know that you won't be able to sleep tonight if you do."

"Davis and Kari wont be getting much sleep, so why should we?" 

"Yes, but in their defence, they are the newlyweds."

Gatomon, accepting that she wasn't going to get any sleep at that particular moment, stood, stretched, and wiped a paw across her head.

"And what do you think that makes us?"

"Don't push it, kitty. You're getting as good at those innuendo as Kari is."

"Well, she IS my partner."

Veemon laughed, and tossed another pebble into the surf.

"Do you think we should go and irritate them?" he asked.

Gatomon looked up at the dimly lit window, and cocked her head to the side, listening. She smiled.

"Give them a few more minutes."

=============================================================

Davis smiled gently through the candlelight at his wife, thinking, both consciously and subconsciously, how beautiful she was. She looked up from her meal, and saw his smile.

"What?"

"Just thinking."

"Just thinking about what?" she said stubbornly.

"Avril Lavigne."

She looked puzzled for a moment, then remembered his joke in the bathroom, and laughed.

"I really love you, Davis."

"I know. Tragic, isn't it?"

She laughed again, and stood. 

"You, Daisuke Motomiya, are possibly the most infuriating, irritating, obnoxious and annoying man I have ever had the misfortune to meet." She stopped, and grinned. "But I love you anyway. You gonna help me clear away these dishes?"

"Of course."

He stood, picking up the plates from the table.

"Where do you want…"

A sudden, searing pain ripped across his torso, burning like a red-hot wire. The dishes clattered to the floor, rolling on the deep carpet as Davis collapsed, clutching at his chest. He heard Kari scream. He couldn't breath…

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The sealed in Cavern, Ironically, looked like a tornado had hit it. The Shadowmon had caused this damage, yet Nick still felt a sense of responsibility. This destruction had only happened because they had been here. Taythe's forces had followed them here, and this was the result.

"How bad was it?" He asked the hooded Guardian.

'It could have been much worse. Most of our people escaped into the caves.'

"Most…"

"There was not anything you could have done, had you been here, Mr Pallet."

Nick looked up at the sound of the voice. The Master, the man known as Tetsato Dartha, was leaning over a balcony above them. He looked tired, haggard, and the years seemed to weigh heavily upon his shoulders. The lead guardian looked up, and Nick felt the silent mental communication pass between them. Dartha nodded.

"Bring him up. Miss Motomiya, I presume you wish to stay with your brother."

Jun nodded mutely. The two guardians carrying the makeshift stretcher moved carefully up the ramp, bearing the fallen Paladin between them. Davis's hand still clutched rigidly to the hilt of his shattered sword. The shards of the Katanas blade lay scattered over the field where Davis had fallen.

"Mr Pallet, if you wish, you may come with us, or you can find something else to do."

Nick looked over at Jun. 

"Do you want me there?"

She shook her head.

"No. You go find something else to do. I'm sure these people could use your help."

Nick looked away, and nodded. He knew why she was getting rid of him. If Davis was going to die, she wanted to be alone with him. For a moment, she thought he was going to object. Then the soldier turned, and walked away without another word.

Jun followed the Guardians carrying Davis up the ramp that led to the Master's house. Once inside, they lay the Paladin gently onto the table. Tetsato Dartha cast a critical eye over the young man. 

"His wound is deep. Have you checked it?"

"I haven't had the chance."

"Let us do that now."

Behind them, another Guardian gently set down the unconscious Veemon in front of the fire. Jun and Dartha lay in close over Davis's chest. Jun looked up at the older man.

"We can't do anything in here – we need somewhere sterile."

Absently, Dartha waved his hand. a dull buzzing noise sounded in Jun's ears, and when it subsided, the door to the house was sealed.

"The rooms been sterilised."

"Are you sure."

"Ms Motomiya, even the bacteria on your skin has been neutralised. I know what I'm doing."

He crossed to a draw, and withdrew a magnifying glass. Leaning back over Davis's wound, he spoke quietly.

"There is a shard of Taythe's sword in the wound. We'll have to extract it before we do anything else."

He withdrew a pair of Tweezers from the draw – it seemed that the Master was also the underground villages surgeon – and gave them an examination. His eyes narrowed, and bright fire played momentarily over the metal, sterilising its surface.

"You'll have to hold him down, Jun. Even in his weakened state, this is going to hurt him."

Jun nodded, and clasped her brother's arms against the table. Dartha leaned in, and grasped the shard of black metal with the tweezers. Without looking up, he spoke to the young doctor. 

"I'm going to have to pull it out fast. This is no ordinary metal, and if it isn't removed quickly, it'll try and fight against us – to the point where Daisuke dies if necessary."

Jun drew a quick breath, and nodded her readiness. Dartha steadied his grip on his tool, and counted.

"Three…"

Jun moved her hand closer to the wound, readying herself.

"Two…"

She took in a deep breath, and held it.

"One!" 

With a swift, decisive movement, Dartha pulled the shard of metal. His face strained with exertion as the piece tried to fight against him, but his speed had caught it by surprise. Jun quickly clamped her fingers down, sealing off the vein that had spurted fresh blood onto Davis's shirt, and pushing down with her other hand as her brother's body arched in pain. Dartha was looking at the shard of metal held in the tweezers with barely contained distaste. Being careful not to allow it to touch his skin, he walked over to the fire, and held the shard over the flames.

"Now, tell me where the rest of you is." He said.

The fire hissed. Dartha spoke sternly.

"Now, none of that. You know what I can do to you, so show me what I want to know."

The fire gave another sullen crackle, but then an image appeared in the flames. As Jun watched, she could saw Taythe, the Digidestined close behind her. the Master's eyes darted over the image. His brow furrowed, and he released the shard into the fire, and with a negligent wave of his hand, melted it into nothing.

"I might have guessed. She's heading for the old fort of the dragon lords, up in the mountains."

Jun, Satisfied that the bleeding had stopped, removed her fingers from the vein, and sealed it off.

"What's so significant about there?"

"It contains the only gate that links directly and permanently to the world of the dark ocean."

A thought occurred to the young doctor.

"Is Taythe being manipulated… like Paul was?"

Dartha's brow furrowed in thought.

"In a way, yes… but no, as well. Taythe was always meant to play this part, and she was raised to it from her creation."

Jun frowned at the strange way he said the last word, but now was not the time for questions. They had to work on helping Davis.

"Can you give me a hand?"

The older man nodded.

"We need to get his wound healed. The coma, however…" He sighed. "I don't know when he's going to come out of it. Or even if he's going to come out of it. I don't know where his mind is right now. It seems to have receded somewhere it cannot be reached, protecting itself."

Jun started to treat the wound, doing all she could do to help it heal.

"He'll come around. Taythe took Kari away from him, and if I know my brother, that's gonna make him REALLY pissed."

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(A/N)

Woo-hoo! Here it is, folks the one that you've waited for a matter of (Checks date.) well… a month, really. I know it isn't much of a chapter to start off with, but it had to start someplace, and this was as good as any. I'm going back to posting on both FFnet and my own site, because much as I loved the amount of hits I've received (over 4000 and counting, folks!) I missed the feedback I get from reviews, since NO-ON EVER USES MY PAINSTAKINGLY REGISTERED FORUM. 

If you go to my site, however, you can do such fun stuff as signing up to my mailing lists, chatting to me on my Forums, and spamming my guestbook. Did I say spamming? I meant signing, of course. ^_^

Ja ne.

-Ben.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

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Davis's head felt like someone had performed surgery on him with a sledgehammer. His mouth was dry, grainy, like he had had sand poured down his throat. Kari sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Hey."

"Hey, Babe."

"Are you okay?"

"My head hurts, my chest hurts, and my throat hurts, but apart from that…"

"Okay, okay, calm down. Just asking!" she laughed. Her face stopped, and a worried look came into her eyes. "You gave me quite a scare."

"Yeah, sorry about that. It wont happen again."

"How do you know?"

"Just one of those feelings."

She gave him a disparaging look.

"Great, because those feelings are SO reliable."

"Hey! I resent that!"

She laughed again, and lay down, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, I suppose if you believe in them, I should too. We are married, after all."

"You'd noticed?"

She kicked him gently, and closed her eyes, snuggling against him. Davis glanced at the clock. It was only nine at night.

"Do you think we should lock the door?" he asked slyly.

She lifted her head, a grin on her face and her eyes full of love.

"Well, obviously you're already feeling better." She said.

Standing shakily, Davis walked over to the door, closed it, and clicked the bolt home. He went back to the bed, and lay down next to his wife.

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Veemon strolled into the house, and fell onto the beanbag he used as seat and napping spot in front of the TV. 

"So, where are they?" he asked Gatomon, who was lying on the sofa, idly flicking through channels on the TV.

"Where do you think?" The Cat-Digimon asked, giving a slightly bored nod towards the bedroom door.

Veemon sighed.

"Where do they get the energy?"

"I think they're making up for lost time."

"A whole hour?"

"For those two, it's a lot of time to make up."

"No arguments here." Veemon snorted.

"I didn't expect any."

The small blue Digimon settled back, his head against the base of the couch.

"Do you remember the last time we were in a battle, Gatomon?"

"No. Not really." Gatomon's voice was sharp, daring him to continue. Veemon took the hint.

"Just wondering." He sighed. "I just… miss it sometimes. Wouldn't it be cool to just go out on another adventure? Just for fun?"

"Veemon, I love you dearly, but I've had enough adventures for one life."

He sighed again.

"I know."

He stood, suddenly restless, and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Gatomon asked.

"Just out for a walk."

"Be careful."

"Me? Never."

He strode out of the door, and down the path, onto the beach. Picking up a smooth stone, he tossed it into the ocean, watching as it skipped along the surface of the water.

"Not a bad throw." Came the strange voice.

Veemon spun, and looked at the tall woman who stood not far away on the white sand. Her red hair, trailing down to the base of her spine, shone dully in the night air. Her pale green dress blended into the night like foliage.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

She walked over to him on silent feet, barely leaving an imprint in the ground behind her. She knelt in front of him, and gently pressed her hand against the top of his forehead.

"You know me, Veemon." She said softly.

He felt a rush through his mind, like a steam train, making everything else fade into the background, drowned out by the clamouring noise. But amid it all there was a sense of… recognition.

"Who are you?" He whispered again.

The woman smiled down at him.

"It seems you must find the answer to that question yourself." Standing, she turned to walk away. 

"Tell me who you are!" Veemon called.

"I cannot. But know this – you and Daisuke are in great danger. This place is a haven for you, but it is not a haven that can last forever. Be at peace for a while, Veemon, for I shall return when the time is right."

And with that, she walked up the narrow path that led away from the beach. As fast as he could on his small legs, Veemon ran after her. When he reached the road, however, the woman was gone. All that remained were the shadows, which suddenly seemed very real in the cold night air. The Digimon shivered, and turned to head back to the house, wondering whom the strange woman was.

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Davis lay next to Kari, his eyes closed in a semblance of sleep.

"Are you still awake?" she whispered.

"No."

"You can't fool me that easily, Mr Motomiya!" she laughed.

"Damn, just when I thought I'd gotten away with it." He replied.

She laughed again, and slipped the covers back. Standing she pulled on a robe, and headed for the door.

"I'm gonna make some coffee. You want some?"

"What, coffee, or…"

"Don't push your luck, Mr. Yes, Coffee."

"Sure. I'll be up in a minute."

She stepped outside, gently pulling the door shut behind her. Davis lay there on their shared bed, and frowned.

Something didn't feel quite right. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a definite feeling of… being in the wrong place. He focused, trying to figure out what was wrong, but the feeling vanished and dispersed as if it had never been, swiftly confining itself to the recesses of his memory.

He shrugged, and stood, pulling on his own robe, and heading for the door. Moving swiftly outside into the kitchen, he slid his hands around his wife's waist, nestling his chin on her shoulder. The rich, aromatic scent of the coffee filled the room, as he kissed the side of her neck.

"Mmm. Better stop that, or we'll never get this coffee done."

"Oh. Wouldn't that be a shame?"

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. Wincing slightly, he backed off a couple of paces. Whatever he would have said next was interrupted by the chirp of their computer. He sighed.

"I knew it was a bad idea to bring that thing with us."

"And I knew it was a good one. Are you going to argue?" Kari asked.

"I'm a wiser man than that." 

She snorted derisively. Sighing again, he sat down in the chair in front of the terminal. Moving the mouse, he swiftly opened the newly received Email. A camera window popped open, and a video of TK started to play.

"Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed your honeymoon! Just thought I'd drop you a message to say Hi, and to let you know that me and Tasha are thinking of you." the image shrugged. "Well… sometimes anyway." Davis laughed. 

TK leaned forward towards the camera.

"Things are all quiet out here. The digital world has never been more peaceful. Tai and Matt are doing patrols, but there doesn't seem to be much point. Your sister seems to have taken command in your absence, by the way, and to be quite frank, we're all far too sensible to try and argue with her. Now, we all know that you aren't going to be coming back except in a dire emergency, so I got nominated to send you a message telling you to keep your interfering nose out, asshole." The image grinned. "We'll be coming round to see you at some point. Keep the guest bedroom prepped up for us! Catch ya later, married-dudes!"

The image blinked out, only to blink back in again quickly.

"One last thing. STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE DIGITAL WORLD!!! JUST ENJOY YOURSELF!!! Ciao!"

The video ended properly this time, and Davis grinned. A steaming cup of coffee appeared over his shoulder, and he reached up to accept it gratefully.

"Do you think they're trying to tell me something?"

"Could be. Maybe you should listen to them."

He spun the chair around, and gripped her about the waist once more.

"Kari, this is possibly the first time ever when I have every intention of following TK's advice."

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Nick's head hurt. As he had stood up in the low doorway of a house, helping to push the beams back into place, a single rock had fallen from the top of the roof, slamming across the side of his head. It had only been a glancing blow, but it had re-opened an old wound. He was pressing a wadded bandage against the cut.

"Are you Kari's friend?"

The soldier turned, and looked down at the small girl. A frown was across her earnest face, and Nick decided it would probably be better to be talk to her. He had seen that look on Kari's face too.

"You could say that. Who're you?"

"I'm Dayla." The child said in a 'How stupid are you?' tone of voice.

Nick immediately felt a strain of annoyance creep into his mind.

"Dayla… Dayla… ah yes. Did the master ever get around to talking to you about that bracelet?"

It was a low blow, and he knew it. Seemingly, so did Dayla. If looks could have killed, Nick felt that he would have been smeared across the top of the cavern.

"That's none of your business." She replied Haughtily. 

The soldier laughed.

"You're probably right. Was there any reason you wanted to talk to me?"

The girl sat down on the rock next to him.

"What's happened to Kari?" the girl asked.

He glanced down at her, and immediately realised that there was no point in trying to lie to this kid.

"She's been captured." He said simply.

"And you didn't stop them?"

"I tried. God, I tried! But when Davis went down…" he sighed. "There were too many of them. I couldn't hold them back."

"Don't worry."

"Huh?"

"You weren't meant to hold them. Everything that had happened so far has been destined to happen. Daisuke is now at a point where he can beat the darkened one."

"The darkened one? You mean Taythe?"

"Who else would I mean?"

"So why can Davis beat her now when he couldn't before?"

"Well he…" She cocked her head to the side suddenly. The small almond-shaped eyes narrowed. "Alright, Master. I'll bring him. Yes I KNOW right away!"

She sighed, and stood.

"C'mon. The master wants to talk to us."

Nick looked distinctly unenthusiastic.

"Oh. Great."

Dayla laughed, and held out her hand for the soldier to hold. Nick got the impression that he should feel privileged. He gripped the small palm in his and they headed up to Dartha's house.

=============================================================

Jun sat on the bench outside the front of the Master's house. Her head was resting back against the wall, exhaustion finally taking over her system and forcing her to sleep. Tetsato Dartha stepped out of the door, looked down at her, and smiled. Leaning back, he looked up at the ceiling of the cave.

"Ah, Arra. If you could see me now…"

A tear crept its way from the corner of his eye.

"And you, Ichiro. You'd better be looking after her, you rogue."

Unbidden, a memory leapt up in front of his eyes. A memory of a meeting, long ago, in his dragon-lord father's tower.

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_"More wine, my lord?"_

_"Who… who are you?"_

_The servant-girl had self-consciously looked away. She wasn't supposed to talk to someone as high on the ladder as Ichiro.  Luckily, the man next to him had answered for her._

_"Ah, so you like our little Arra, do you Ichiro?"_

_The voice was slurred, and Ichiro looked at Tetsato Dartha, the younger son of the host with distaste. _

_"You're drunk." _

_"Aye, that I am. But you didn't answer my question, my friend."_

_He looked up at the servant-girl._

_"On your way, lass. I'm sure there are others you could be serving."_

_"My lord."_

_She turned and left, her red-tinted hair falling behind her. Tetsato nudged Ichiro in the ribs._

_"You like her?"_

_"I don't even know her."_

_His friend laughed._

_"And what does that have to do with anything? You want a bed-warmer, not a wife. You'll get one of those soon enough anyways, if rumours are correct."_

_Ichiro elbowed the other man, choking off the next laugh._

_"They're not correct. And you know me, I'm not the type to just have, as you so eloquently put it, a Bed-warmer."_

_Tetsato shook his head, and shrugged._

_"You wouldn't want her anyway. She's a cocky one, she is. That's why she's so liked around here, she's a cheeky little lass, for all her fairness."_

_"She's a servant girl, Tetsato. You know they're off limits. Especially our hosts servant girls." _

_"Well, how about a present…"_

_"Give it a rest, and go back to getting drunk."_

_"Too late. Are your family heading home tonight?"_

_Ichiro shook his head._

_"Too late for that, my friend. Your father has arranged guest rooms for those of us from the farther towers."_

"In that case, you can get drunk with me, you miserable bastard."

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Dartha laughed to himself at the memory. That was the first time that Ichiro had met the woman with whom he was to fall in love, for whom he was to give up everything. Dartha had always prayed that he wouldn't be tested in the same way absently, he reached up to the hanging basket by the door and picked one of it's flowers. Breathing in the scent, he smiled as the memories came back more clearly. Arra's rose, they were called. Ichiro had created them in such a way that they only bloomed in these caves, a haven of memories. He looked up as he heard Nick and Dayla came up the path to the house. Dropping the flower, he reached down to wake Jun up, and then decided against it. The doctor could wake in her own time – there was nothing he was about to say that couldn't wait.

"Thankyou for coming so fast, Mr Pallet."

The small girl coughed, indignantly.

"Yes, and you too, Dayla. Come inside."

=============================================================

In the tunnels there were signs of a battle. The floor had fallen away, as the roof caved in. burn marks seared the wall. A discarded rifle was against the wall of the chamber, surrounded by shell casings. There were also several bodies – Shadowmon only. If we were to go down through the hole in the tunnel floor, we would come across a ice-cold river of fast flowing water. Following the water along, we come to the entrance of another tunnel, at the edge of a small beach. There is a man sprawled on the beach, exhausted, his hand grasping a sword that he has stubbornly refused to let go. He has been there for days now, hungry, drained by the cold. When he hears a footstep next to him, he barely has the strength to raise his head to look at the figure above him. He doesn't need to speak to recognise the hooded man. The newcomer reaches a hand down, and the exhausted soldier reaches up and grasps it, allowing himself to be helped to his feet.

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(A/N) 

Well, that was a nice piece of filler, wasn't it? I know that if you're read this on my site, you might have gotten round to visiting the forum or posting on my guestbook, but if you don't want to do that, coming here and reviewing is just as good! PLEASE! I WANT FEEDBACK, SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE!!!

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	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

********

=============================================================

Davis stood barefoot and bare-chested on the beach, the katana clutched loosely in his right hand. Moving slowly, his left hand outstretched in front of him, forming a c-shape. His sword hand came up behind him, over his shoulder, holding the shining blade parallel to his outstretched arm. He moved his left hand up to grip the blades handle, above his right. The katana moved gracefully through the air, humming in the evening sun.

He spun swiftly, moving through the patterns of manoeuvres he had learnt. His eyes closed, taking joy in the mere movement.

"Why do you still need that thing?" came a quiet voice.

Kari was standing at the head of the path, a long green dress swirling around her legs in the breeze that struck up without warning. Davis looked down at the sword in his hands as if seeing it for the first time. Slowly, he loosened his grip, letting the weapon drop into the sand.

"I… don't. I don't have to fight any more."

He left the katana on the sand, and walked over to his wife. He cupped her chin in his hand, and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I will never need to fight again."

He took her hand, and walked back up to the house. From the rock where he had been watching, Veemon sighed.

"Davis…"

He leapt down from the rock, and walked over to the Katana. Stooping, he placed his paws gently under the blade, and lifted it from the sand. Clutching the sword to his small form, he walked over to the rocks, and started digging in the soft earth. When a deep hole had been excavated, he gently, almost tenderly, pushed the sword inside, leaving only the hilt above ground. Then he filled in the loose earth, and walked back to the house.

=============================================================

" Davis?"

He turned around from the computer, where he had been checking out the latest football scores. There were some things that married life didn't change.

"Yeah, honey?"

"There's something I need to tell you…"

He saw the look on her face, and stood from his seat.

"Kari? What's wrong?"

"Well… first of all, I've invited Yolei and Ken to stay for a while…"

He laughed.

"Is that all? Kari, what's really wrong?"

She bit her lower lip, something he knew she did unconsciously when she was troubled. He stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Kari, whatever it is, you can tell me. Don't worry."

She closed her eyes, gripping his shoulder hard enough to make him wince slightly. 

"Davis…" she whispered. "I'm… I'm pregnant, Davis."

He froze, his body stiffening as shock set in over her words.

"You mean I… we…?"

"Yes… we're going to have a baby."

He stepped back away from her. She looked up at him, still gnawing at her lip, one had unconsciously pressed against her stomach. 

"Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" he asked.

"Well… I didn't know whether you wanted a family yet."

She looked up, and was surprised to see a wide, goofy grin spreading across Davis's face. Suddenly, he leapt into the air, one fist punching at the ceiling.

"WA…HOO!!!"

She reeled back in surprise, and then felt her own stupid grin form on her face.

"So… you're not mad?"

He rushed forward, and pressed his lips against hers. When they finally broke apart, the smiles were mirror-imaged on their faces.

"Kari… this is one of the happiest days of my life. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Davis. You're gonna be a great daddy."

=============================================================

"Asshole!"

"Braniac!"

"Camel breath!"

"Dipstick!"

"Egghead!"

Yolei looked up at Kari sadly across the back seat of Davis's jeep. 

"You know, this is why we shouldn't get together."

"yeah. These two will be at it for hours."

Davis grinned into the rear-view mirror.

"I resent that. We're bound to run out of letters eventually."

"I take back what I said earlier. You teach our kid how to insult to the alphabet, and you know what I'll do?"

The brown-haired young man grimaced.

"You'll have to sew 'em back on first."

"What do you mean by…" Ken stopped in mid question. "Wait. Forget it. I don't want to know." He grinned. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine."

"And we're on?"

"F. Freak."

" Git."

Kari sighed, and settled back in her seat. It was going to be a long day.

=============================================================

Veemon sat on the rocks near the house once more, keeping his lonely vigil over the golden katana he had buried in the sand.

"This place isn't real, is it?"

"No." the red-haired woman replied.

"Where is it, then?"

"This is part of Davis's mind. A Digimon is directly connected to the soul of his partner. You are here to help Davis through this."

The blue Digimon sighed. 

"He isn't ready to come out yet?" 

"No. His body has suffered tremendous trauma in the battle with Taythe. He has to allow his body to recover before he can leave this place."

"But why am I here? Is my body safe?"

"You were wounded too, fighting the twelve dragons."

Veemon grimaced slightly.

"I don't remember. But I've… never really been defeated before. Not this badly."

She grinned.

"Veemon, all that has happened up to this point has been pre-ordained. It is now that Daisuke's real task as the Paladin shall begin."

"Why? If he lost…"

"He may have lost the battle, but the war is yet to be fought. Do not despair, my friend."

The Digimon swept his hands across the scene in front of them.

"It's not the real world I'm worried about. Do you know what this place is?"

The tall woman shook her head.

"This place isn't just some random image. This is Davis's Ideal reality. All he wants is to be able to settle down, have a family, do some menial job. He doesn't want to be the leader of the digital world. He doesn't want to be some hero who will save the day. Not any more. All he wants is a little house like this one, a noodle cart, a kitchen and Kari. It isn't him staying here that's the problem."

He sighed again.

"But its gonna be a bitch trying to get him to leave."

=============================================================

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Well, that's okay, it's not as if we needed you. Did you stop of for a three course meal or something?"

Willis flinched.

"That's not fair, Jun."

She sat down heavily.

"I'm sorry. It's been a… long week."

"I imagine so."

He sat down next to her, and gave a small grin.

"How is he?"

She shook her head.

"The coma isn't getting any better. He's shown none of the signs of coming out of it, and whatever the master put on his wound is helping to heal it, but it's still taking a while."

Terriermon floated down from the roof of the house, his oversized ears ballooning around him.

"What about Veemon?" the little Digimon asked.

"From what we can tell, he's in there with Davis, inside the coma."

"So what am I here for?"

Tetsato Dartha came through the door.

"Because you're one of the few free Digidestined left. You got Gennai's email, I take it."

Willis nodded.

"He didn't say much, just to get to the digital world as soon as possible."

Dartha shuddered.

"Email… I hate computers."

"That's a pity since, you live inside one."

"Don't give me that. The digital world isn't composed of computer data, you know."

"But…"

"The digiworld has always existed, in various forms. All that changes is the gateway. Currently it's computers. God, I hope that changes soon."

"Why don't you like computers then?"

"I'm fifteen hundred years old! Why should I have to learn how to use those bloody machines?" he moaned.

"Guys? Hate to break up the squabbling, but now's not a good time." Jun snapped.

Both Dartha and stooped, casting a sheepish look in the brown-haired woman's direction.

"I'm waiting." Jun said dangerously.

"Sorry Jun." Dartha muttered.

"Yeah, sorry." Willis followed suit.

"Okay, now, if you're done, I'm sure that the Master has a story to tell us."

"You're right of course, Jun." Dartha sighed.

He put a hand against his brow, collecting his thoughts for a moment.

"Dayla, can you come out here?"

The small girl came out of the house, and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"I'm going to need your help to go to the prophecy."

"I thought I wasn't ready for that?" The child needled slyly. 

Dartha gave her a deadpan look.

"You're not, but it's just your power I'm going to be using. I'll do the manoeuvring myself."

Dayla glared at him, but nodded.

"Am I coming too?" Terriermon asked.

"I'm afraid not, my small friend. Can you keep an eye on Davis for the moment."

The four people joined their hands in a ring, and 

There was no sense of transition. The second that their hands had linked, they had suddenly appeared in the cave of the prophecy. Willis looked around. 

"Whoa. Neat trick."

Dartha fixed him with a look, and walked over to the wall.

"Tell me what you see here, Jun."

Davis's sister looked at the paintings. A city, surrounded by small black figures, representing the Shadowmon. Another image of the city burning. The tunnels, with figures that looked suspiciously like…

"Davis? Kari?"

Dartha nodded.

"Look further."

She did so. A snow covered field. Davis, and a figure in a cloak, with a dark cloud above her head. Taythe. The pair with crossed swords, whilst Edenamon fought against the twelve dragons overhead. The pair of them, falling to the ground. and then…

"There isn't anything more."

"Correct. All of the images that you see here were pre-ordained. Call it what you like – fate, destiny, all of these words are good. But when Davis was defeated by Taythe on that field, something changed. There is no more destiny. Everything that happens from now on is yet to be written. And Davis will be the one to right it."

Dayla stepped forward.

"Daisuke is now Chana-Paladin. The saviour without fate. There have been many Paladins before, but everything has been leading up to this coming battle. This is when the final conflict between light and darkness will take place. Daisuke must decide his own fate, and his destiny is no longer tied to Taythe's, because he HAS no destiny."

Dartha turned around. 

"I cannot tell you any more than that. I am not permitted to. But know this: we will stand by the Chana-Paladin. For good or for bad."

=============================================================

Nick crouched low behind a rock, his rifle in his hands. Beside him, two of the Guardians crouched, their sealed eyes seeming to scan the terrain, a still instinctive thing to do, despite the fact it was their minds reaching out.

"How many are there?" the soldier asked.

'I count ten.'

"So that's two each. Not bad odds. Send a message to the others telling them to get ready. These Shadowmon are escorting prisoners."

'I concur. The others are waiting.'

Silently, the guardian raised his sword-staff. The double-ended Katana was deadly in the right hands, and these blind warriors had been trained since birth. Nick heard the growls of the Shadowmon as the rounded the turn into the narrow ravine. He carefully lifted his head over the edge of the rock for a better view.

"Right… five on each side, and I count five prisoners." He gently laid the scope of his rifle onto the group, taking care not to let the sunlight reflect off of the lens. "That's Garret. He's a good man. Are we ready?"

'Yes, Soldier.'

"On three. One, two, three!!"

Then he was up and leaping over the ravines edge, spraying the ground in front of the group with bullets.

"Nobody move!"

It was pointless to say it, he knew, but it kept the Shadowmon distracted for the crucial seconds of time it took the Guardians to reach the foul creatures. Nick drew his own sword as one of the blind warriors neatly gutted a Shadowmon like a salmon. He slid down the loose gravel, and swung his blade, neatly decapitating an enemy, before twisting and firing his rifle one-handed at the next, knocking it to the ground.

He felt himself pushed forward by clawed hands, stumbling into the ground. One of the guardians had accidentally allowed a creature to respawn. He desperately twisted, trying to avoid the blow that he knew would crush his skull like an egg. He saw the Shadowmon lunge at him…

And be jerked back as a chain wrapped itself around it's throat. Garret pulled upwards, and twisted, snapping the beast's neck. He looked down at Nick, and held out a hand to help his commanding officer to his feet.

"What kept you?" 

"Not much. Everyone okay?"

"Minor wounds. It seems Taythe wants the ones who got away for something."

"We'll figure it out later. C'mon, we've got to get back to our base." He spotted the troopers warily eyeing the Guardians, who were nonchalantly wiping their bloodstained weapons on the grass. "Don't worry. They're friends."

"What about Davis, Sarge?"

"He's badly wounded. I'll explain on the way."

"And the boss?" 

Nick stopped, and shook his head. Garret swore.

"C'mon." Nick said gently. "Let's get you guys somewhere you can heal up."

With his forces increased by five hungry, wounded and unarmed men, Nick Pallet turned round and headed for the cave entrance at the top of the ravine.

=============================================================

(A/N)

Ah, filler chapters, where would I be without you? I hope that this chapter explains most of the technicalities and questions you asked in the reviews. Please bear in mind that it isn't an accurate representation of Toei's concepts, and is just my conclusions over the state of the digital world. If you have any questions, please go to one of my forums! They're right there on my site, and I want people to use them sometimes!!!

Alternatively, if you don't feel comfortable doing that, you can mail me at

myatb001@medway.org.uk

It's the only one of my email addresses that I can access during weekdays, so if it's vital, send it there. If you aren't that bothered, use this one:

moose_of_doom@hotmail.com 

Ja ne! R+R!!!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

********

Davis sat across the table from his friend, a goofy grin plastered across his face.

"So, the times getting closer, huh?" Ken asked.

The former leader of the Digidestined nodded.

"The doctors reckon its less than a week now. Less than a week, Ken! I'm gonna be a daddy!"

Ken sat back, his beer in his hand, and contemplated his friend. He and Yolei had visited in the earlier stages of Kari's pregnancy, and now that the birth of the pair's children was approaching, they had returned to help around the place. Davis's eyes seemed far away, as if he was looking into a future that only he could see.

"You really are happy about this, aren't you?"

"Of course!"

"And not in the least bit worried?"

"Well…"

"Ah-hah! You ARE worried!"

"I didn't say that!"

"You said enough, my friend, and enough is as good as a feast."

Davis glared at the blue-haired man, and then grinned.

"Well… I am a little worried. All sorts of things keep going through my mind."

"Such as?"

"Such as… where am I gonna find room for a baby. How am I gonna pay the bills… that sort of thing."

Ken smirked.

"So, nice, ordinary, mundane things, then."

"Damn straight."

Whatever Ken might have said in reply was cut off by the sound of the buzzer at the front door. Out in the lounge, Kari started to get to her feet. 

"You sit down." Davis said.

"I can manage, honey."

"If you're calling me honey, you're obviously not in the right frame of mind. Sit down, Kari."

She glared at him, and sat down. Her swollen belly peeked out slightly from underneath the t-shirt she wore. Davis repressed the urge to go over to her, and turned back to the door.

"Jun?!?"

Davis's shocked exclamation of surprise made Kari and Yolei twist around in their seats again, staring in astonishment at the door. Jun gazed at them all impassively.

"Davis, are you gonna let me in, or am I gonna have to beat you up again?"

"That only happened once!"

"Would you like a reprise?"

Davis weighed up the odds, and then moved aside to let his sister in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"That's not very polite, Davis. Mom raised you better than that. Besides…" she indicated the bag she held. "…Did you think I was gonna let anyone else deliver my niece or nephew?"

"Please let it be a niece, I don't think I could cope with a little Daisuke." Kari muttered.

"I'm standing right here!" Davis said with a pained expression.

"And I'm sitting right here. Think about it from my perspective."

"How does the patient feel today?" Jun cut in.

"Aside from the sensation of carrying a basketball filled with water in my stomach, the patient feels fine. How does the doctor feel?"

"The doctor also feels fine." Jun laughed. "Is she kicking?"

"She is indeed."

"Am I the only one noticing all the 'she's' creeping into this dialogue?" Davis asked.

Veemon, who had been sitting on his favourite beanbag, nodded sagely

"I think they've decided for you. Give up while you can."

"You haven't." Gatomon accused.

"That's cos I can run faster than you."

The brown-haired Digidestined glanced over his shoulder at Ken.

"I think we're outnumbered. You want to have a kickaround on the beach?"

Ken looked at Jun, who was resting her ear on Kari's stomach, a look of rapture on her face, whilst Yolei gazed at them with a similar expression.

"I think that would be a good idea."

"I'm coming too!" Veemon said hastily. 

The three headed for the front door, grabbing a football on the way.

=============================================================

Davis half-heartedly caught the ball on his chest, dropped it to his feet, and kicked it back to Ken with negligent skill. The other man headed it into the air, and allowed it to drop into the sand at his feet.

"You're not really into this, are you?"

"My minds in other places."

"Always has been. It's never been in your head, that's for sure."

"Normally, I'd kick your ass for that, but I really can't be bothered."

"I'm so frightened. What's wrong, then?"

He sighed.

"I don't know. Everything's so perfect, but… I don't know."

On the small grassy bank, unseen by the pair on the beach, Veemon once again sat next to the red-haired woman.

"He's starting to realise." The little Digimon said.

"I know. That is why his mind is creating ways to keep him here."

"Children?"

"Yes. This is what he wants, so his mind is creating it. But part of his mind is starting to rebel."

"Why?"

"There are parts of the human psyche that don't function without the perception of misery. Courage, bravery – all of these only really come out when fighting back against suffering."

"That makes sense, I suppose."

"Of course it does. I said it, remember?"

They were interrupted by Yolei bursting out of the door.

"Davis! Get in here! It's started!"

"Huh?"

"YOUR WIFE IS HAVING THEM!!!"

Davis ran for the door, but skidded to a halt.

"Them???"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? You've got twins on the way, Mr Motomiya."

"OH SHIT!!!"

He ran through the door, and shut it behind him. Veemon looked up at the woman. A sad expression was on her face.

"He can't stay here much longer, can he?"

"No. If he does, he'll never leave."

=============================================================

As soon as he got into the house, Davis headed straight for the bedroom door. Jun, however, stopped him.

"You cant, Davis."

"Why?" 

"You're dirty! She needs to be kept as far away from germs as possible right now!"

"But I want to be with her!"

"You will, but not yet! Go boil some water!"

"Huh?" 

"We need clean, disinfected Towels. MOVE!"

She turned and went back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Davis, his face pained, turned and went into the kitchen, setting a pan full of water on the stove.

He kept himself there, boiling the towels, passing them to Jun. Tears stung at his eyes, and he angrily wiped them away. He wanted to be by Kari's side. He wanted to be there with her when their children entered the world! 

He lost track of time, totally engrossed in both his anger at being excluded, and his joy at becoming a parent. In his reverie, he didn't even notice the sun sink beneath the horizon and darkness sweep over the house. He stopped suddenly, when he heard a strange noise. 

A stuttering cough broke the silence, followed by the healthy cry of a baby. He turned slowly, as Ken also looked up from where Jun had stationed him to prevent Davis getting through into the bedroom. She knew her brother well. Davis looked at his friend, and headed for the door.

"Davis, we have to wait."

"Ken, if you try and stop me, you're gonna end up with your head through this door, now MOVE."

As it turned out, Ken didn't have to. The door opened from the inside, and Jun looked out.

"C'mon in." she whispered. "But keep your voices down."

Ken stepped out of the way, and Davis moved into the bedroom. Kari, her hair muffed around her head like a brown nimbus, smiled tiredly at him. Jun stepped outside, closing the door, giving the pair the privacy they needed.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey. How do you feel?" 

"I feel fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now come and see your daughters."

"Daughters? Both of them?"

"Yup. Told you it was gonna be a she. Guess I work in doubles."

"It would seem so." 

He crossed to her, and sat gently down on the bed next to her. He looked down at the two children nestled in her arms. One of the girls had pale brown hair almost a golden colour in the gentle light of the bedside lamp. The other had a darker hair colour, verging on black, at the opposite end of the spectrum to her sister.

"Do we have names for them yet?" he asked.

"What, do I have to do all the work here?" she asked, smiling.

He gazed at her beautiful face in the gentle light. She knew that he had wanted to name their children. Gently, he leaned across and kissed her.

"I would have been here…"

"I know. You don't have to explain. Now name our kids, and let me get some sleep."

He laughed, and she passed their babies to him. Looking down at the lighter haired one, he spoke quietly.

"Hinode." 

Then his gaze turned to the other child, who was gazing back at him with her dark eyes filled with a kind of gentle defiance.

"Gekkou."

He looked up at his wife, who was smiling at him gently.

"You approve?"

"Of course."

"I love you more than anything, Kari. I'll never leave your side, I promise."

He passed their children back, and headed for the door.

"Davis?"

"Yeah?"

"The days gonna come when I'll hold you to that promise."

He flashed her a smile, and stepped outside.

=============================================================

The soldiers were slumped unceremoniously in the Master's house. They had no weapons, and were completely dependent on the people of the caves for any supplies that they received. All in all, Nick had decided that he thoroughly hated the situation.

"I didn't think it was possible," he commented to Jun "But this both sucks and blows."

The young doctor turned round, and fixed him with a level gaze. 

"overlooking the fact that that is physically impossible, Nick Pallet, I really don't think there's any call for that kind of remark, do you?"

Nick, a ciggarette dangling unlit from the corner of his mouth, told her in very broad terms, and at some length, what he thought of that. Jun took the tirade of curses with a blank face, and then promptly punched him in the nose when he was done. Nick reeled back in pain.

"Hey! What was that for?!?"

"Well, you were either getting overly hysterical, or you were severely pissing me off. Take your pick."

He glared at her, seething with impotent rage for a minute, then burst out laughing.

"I was getting a bit wound up, wasn't I?"

"I don't blame you, but I haven't had any coffee for almost two weeks now, and whatever the Master gives us to drink, it sure as hell don't have caffeine in it."

"Caffeine is very bad for you, Jun." Dartha said from the door.

"I know that. Tell it to me first thing in the morning though."

The master laughed, and grinned at them all.

"Come outside. Willis has come up with something interesting."

The troopers obediently moved outside to where Willis was crouched over his laptop computer. Dartha walked over next to him.

"Show them what you just showed me."

"Okay. You all know that the current incarnation of the digiworld is based on gateways made of computer data, right? Well, what if we could use that data to our advantage."

"How?" Garret asked, his eyes fixed on the younger man.

"Well…"

Willis smirked, and tapped a few commands on his keyboard. A bright light shone a couple of paces away for a second, and then there was a brand new rifle and Kevlar armour vest lying on the paving stones of the underground village.

One of the troopers near the back whistled, as Garret went over and picked up the weapon. Nick turned to the Digidestined.

"How did you do that?" he demanded.

"I uploaded it." 

Willis's smirk was so smug, that under other conditions Nick might have been tempted to shoot him. At this moment, however, it was all the soldier could do to keep himself from hugging the younger man.

"So you can create things using the data that makes up the gateways?" Jun asked.

"Yeah… but there are limitations." 

Davis's sister's eyes narrowed. 

"Like what?"

"Well, I can't create anything organic."

Jun's shoulders slumped.

"No coffee then… anything else?"

"I can't create anything too big. If I do, it could have some… bad side effects."

"Again, Like what?"

"Like making the digital collapse in upon itself."

"Ouch."

"That's what I thought too. Not a good idea. I can also add to anything uploaded, or anything present. Terriermon?"

The big-eared Digimon floated down from his usual position on the roof with a look of extreme trepidation. 

"Stand here please."

Terriermon sighed.

"I'm gonna regret this…"

Willis tapped another command into his keyboard, and bright light shone around the Digimon's shoulders. When it dimmed, armoured plating covered the upper half of Terriermon's body.

"Cool!" The big-eared creature said. 

"I thought so." His partner replied.

"So you can make us all weapons then?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, all except swords. I don't want to over-use the system, and there are already swords being made in the caves."

"Well, this turns the tide a little. Thanks a lot, Willis."

"Any time."

=============================================================

Despite the fact that the village was situated at least a hundred feet underground, the cave had naturally adapted to its situation. Night came, if anytime, when the small plants that provided the cave with its light started to dim in their glowing luminescence. 

It was in one of these nighttime cycles that a visitor arrived at the Master's house. A young man, his hair bound in a loose ponytail at the back of his head, knocked upon the door, as the nine people inside were settling down to a very late meal. Dartha stood, and opened the door. He immediately recognised the man outside.

"Don't you ever get tired of changing your appearance?"

"Not in the past thousand years or so."

"I thought not. Welcome, Gennai. It's been a long time."

"Seems like two hundred years."

"… It's been two hundred years."

"Really? How time flies."

He stepped inside, and bowed formally to Dartha, and then to the group at the table.

"Hello, everybody. It's been a while."

Jun stood, and rushed over to him.

"Gennai!"

"Jun! You look as lovely as ever."

For some reason, Jun wrapped her arms around the man, embracing him in a fierce hug. Gennai returned the embrace, until she finally let go.

"It didn't go exactly to plan, did it?"

"Not really, no."

"Don't worry. Things will improve from hereon in." he turned. "Oh, by the way, I found this down in the caves, I thought you might want it back."

A second figure stepped in through the door, his face hidden in the recesses of his hooded cloak. The hilt of a longsword showed through the opening at the front of the garment, as the figure slowly reached up, and pulled back his hood.

The group sitting at the table gasped as they recognised the man before them, his shoulder length brown hair ruffled from the hood of his cloak.

"God bless all here." Liam Dillon said in his rich Belfast accent. "Has anyone got anything to drink? I'm bloody dyin' for a whiskey."

=============================================================

(A/N)

Guess whose back… back again… Liam's back… tell a friend!!!

I meant to keep this until a bit later, but I'm kind of approaching the limit of all I can accomplish with Davis's side of this storyline, so in a couple chapters I'm gonna shift to Kari and the Digidestined's side of the story. I think that answers one of the questions in my reviews!

Anyways, I figured I'd bring Liam back; otherwise his fans (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) would crucify me.

If anyone can guess the meaning behind Davis and Kari's Kids names, email me! The people who get it right shall receive a cookie!

In other stuff, USE MY BLOODY FORUMS!!!! THEY'RE THE EASIEST WAY TO CONTACT ME, PEOPLE!!!!!

I've also got an "Extras" page up on my website. Not much there at the moment, but there's my rant on the Takari-Daikari rivalry, a wallpaper I made, an FAQ, and some character notes on Liam. There's gonna be character bios there when I get round to writing them.

Ja ne,

- BEN.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

********

"C'mon, dad!" Gekkou moaned.

Davis turned round in his chair and looked at his six-year-old daughter.

"C'mon where?" he asked.

"You said you'd play football with me!"

"Did I?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't remember that."

"You did!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"Yes, you said you'd play football with me!"

"Did I?"

"YES!!!"

"I don't remember that."

"You di…"

Gekkou's small face froze.

"You're teasing me, aren't you Dad?"

"Me? Would I do a thing like that?"

She glared at him. He laughed, and picked her up onto his lap.

"Where's your sister?" he asked.

"She's in the kitchen with Mom."

"Oh, god, please don't tell me your mother is attempting to cook."

"Well… yeah, she is."

"I suppose we'll have to attempt to eat it, wont we?"

"I guess so." Gekkou giggled.

A crash from the kitchen broke them out of their small companionship. Davis flinched, and stood as Kari came in through the door.

"Well?" he asked.

She looked at him calmly.

"I'm entirely sure I know what went wrong."

"Of course." Davis replied evenly.

"I don't think it was meant to explode."

"I didn't think so, either." 

"You might want to get a new frying pan."

"I was going to go into town later."

"Well, if you're going…"

At no point in the exchange had their facial expressions changed. Their twin daughters, young faces smiling impishly, glanced from one to the other. Their parents turned to look at them.

"Well?" Kari said

The two small girls looked at each other, and suddenly burst out laughing. Despite trying to maintain their air of calm, within seconds their parents were giggling madly as well. After a good few minutes of high-pitched laughter, Davis finally gained control over himself.

"Well, at least we wont have to eat whatever you were trying to cook."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You've got the same cooking style as your mother."

"And that is?" Kari said dangerously.

"Experimental."

He dodged the hastily thrown dishtowel, as he started to laugh again.

"Get out of here, Davis!" she shouted, laughing.

"C'mon, Gekkou. Lets go while the goings good!" Davis said to his dark-haired child.

The two quickly dodged out of the door, and Kari looked down at their other daughter.

"Well, Hinode, you can help me clear up."

"Aw, mom!"

"You can lick the mixing bowl?"

"Aw, MOM!!!" 

"What?"

=============================================================

Gekkou kicked the ball as hard as her small legs allowed her, booting the leather projectile down the beach. Davis, diving headlong, planted himself between the ball and the goalmouth, saving it as his dark-haired daughter groaned. He stood, and smiled at her.

"Not bad, kid."

"You still saved it!"

"Sometimes, it's the thought that counts, rather than the goal itself."

He passed the ball, underarm, back to her. She dribbled it around, then came back for a second shot. The ball sailed true through the air…

"BANZAI!!!!" 

Veemon suddenly shot out of the undergrowth at the edge of the beach, sailed through the air, and knocked the football out of the air.

"Veemon!" Gekkou groaned.

But the little blue Digimon didn't stop. Instead, he chose that moment to indulge in his favourite pastime – daughter bashing. Skidding, he slid forward along the sand, and slammed into the dark-haired girls legs, knocking them out from under her. Davis ran up the beach towards them, as Veemon leapt to his feet.

"Got her!" he cried, triumphantly.

Gekkou glared at him, and grabbed hold of his feet.

"H…hey!" Veemon yelled as Davis grabbed his paws. Father and daughter walked resolutely, carrying the struggling Digimon between the, down to the surf line. 

"Oh, you are not gonna…"

But they did. Veemon sailed through the air, and splashed into the water, where he sat up, spluttering.

"YOU SONOVA…"

"Veemon!" Davis snapped, cutting off the remains of the comment. Veemon glared at him, and dragged himself out of the water.

"I hope you are SO happy with yourselves."

Davis turned to Gekkou.

"I'm happy. How about you."

"I'm happy too, Dad." 

Veemon fixed them with a baleful look.

"Oh, har har. Jerks."

"Watch your language in front of my kids, pal."

"Daisuke Motomiya."

Davis turned at the sound of the unknown, yet strangely familiar voice. A tall woman with red hair was standing at the edge of the beach, looking down at him.

"Can I help you, Ma'am?" 

"Yes. You can."

He waited, but she said nothing more.

"Erm… how?"

"There are things that require you, Daisuke. Things that require some of your more… unusual talents."

"Look, is this about the digital world?"

"In a way."

"Then you should look up Takeru Takaishi. He's the one who handles these things now."

He turned, and gripped his daughter's hand, enclosing the small palm in his own. Together, they started to walk towards the house.

"Paladin."

He froze.

"How do you know that name?" he asked quietly, without turning.

"Your duties are not yet finished, Paladin. There are tasks you have yet to complete."

"That part of my life is behind me, Ma'am. I'd be very grateful if you left now, because you're scaring my daughter."

And indeed, he could feel that Gekkou was scared. The small girl kept glancing warily over her shoulder at the tall woman.

"Dad… c'mon, lets go in."

Davis took a halting step forward.

"Do not even attempt to walk away from me, Daisuke." 

The woman's tone was hard as steel. Davis felt his legs stiffen.

"Turn to face me, chosen warrior."

Unable to control his own movements, Davis turned.

"Who are you?"

"My name is not important."

"It is to me! Who are you?"

"My name was… is… Arra."

=============================================================

"I fell for a long time." Liam said. "And then I hit the water."

"Where?" Jun asked.

"It must have been running under this cavern. I'd been fighting the Shadowmon off in the tunnel, after I sent you on your way."

"Thanks for that, by the way." Jun said lightly.

"Welcome. Anyways, I'd used up the rounds in my rifle, and I was down to my sword." He lightly patted the pommel of the weapon slung at his side. "I got as many of them as I could. Then I had the bright idea of lobbing a grenade down into the tunnel."

"Oops." Nick said lightly.

"Aye, that about sums it up. The blast made the tunnel unstable, and the next thing I knew, I was falling through the floor into the dark."

He leaned back in his chair, gazing at the ceiling. The troopers around him had demanded that he tell his tale, and he was all too happy to oblige, yet some of the memories were so fresh he could almost feel them.

Like the touch of Mimi's lips on his…

"The water was freezing. It went through my entire body like an electric shock. I'd been battered around a bit by the blast, and it took me a while to come to my senses. It wasn't until I heard the splashing that I realised that some of the buggers had come down with me. I almost died of shock when I felt one of 'em grab me, I can tell ya."

Jun shook her head in disbelief.

"Well, Like I said, I was down to the sword, and I was just flailing around, 'cos the water was moving bloody fast, and I wasn't exactly concerned with looking good at that moment."

"You never do that anyway." Said Nick.

"Did someone stimulate your arsehole gene while I was away?"

"You do realise how that sounded, don't you?"

"Have you ever had a sword through your throat?"

"Not yet."

"Are you open to new experiences?"

"Get on with, it, Boss!" Garret said.

"Oh god, not you too?" Liam teased.

"Liam…" Jun started warningly.

"Et tu, Jun?" He caught their looks. "Alright, alright. I fought off a load of them, but then the current pulled me under into a tunnel of rock. Shadowmon are better swimmers than we realised, trust me on this one. I couldn't move that fast, and it was about 5 minutes under there. My lungs were bloody bursting by the time I surfaced again. I washed up on a beach, about a mile after I dropped through, I'd guess. I must have lain there for about a week before Gennai found me. I was near water, so I wasn't thirsty, but blood-loss was starting to become a problem, and I was almost too weak to get out of the place."

He stopped, frowning at his feet.

"After Gennai found me, I was in no condition to really do anything, other than lie around. All my energy had been sapped up in that bloody stream. When I'd recovered a little, Gennai told me what had happened to you lot, and we set out to get here."

He looked up again.

"The digiworld is swarming with Shadowmon. I mean seriously covered with the things. They've taken all the major cities, and their patrols are all over the countryside."

Nick nodded.

"That's what I figured. They've got the whole world by the throat."

"Pretty much sums it up."

"Speaking of Gennai," Jun said, "He and the Master have been cooped up for the better part of an hour."

"They're trying to figure out a way to bring Davis back." Liam said. "How is he, by the way?"

Jun shook her head.

"His wounds have healed up, but he doesn't show any signs of coming out of the coma. And the longer he stays…"

"The less chance he'll leave." Dartha finished from the door. The Master looked tired, and Gennai, behind him, looked just as haggard, despite his now youthful appearance."

"What did you do?"

"We've summoned someone who we think can bring Daisuke out." Gennai said. "It takes a lot of energy to summon a spirit back from beyond. She told us that she's been keeping an eye over him anyway. She believes it's time to bring him back out, but she has very little power where Daisuke is right now."

"Where is he then?" Liam asked.

"He is trapped within his own soul. So far, this person has been able to convince Veemon of the danger, but she hasn't been able to reach Daisuke."

"Veemon's in there with him?"

"A Digimon and his partner are connected in ways that go beyond the physical manifestation. They are soul-partners, and that is why Veemon is in there."

"Who is the person who is in there with them?" Jun asked shrewdly. 

Dartha hesitated, before relenting. 

"It is Arra. The Paladin's grandmother."

"Our grandmother??"

"Maybe the correct term is Ultimate grandmother. She was the wife of Ichiro Motomiya, the first Paladin, and the Paladin line tends to breed straight down when it comes to sons." He realised how Jun might take this. "Erm… sorry. It was the only way I can think of to…"

"That's okay, Master." Jun cut him off swiftly. "So, My grandmother is in there? Then why can't she bring Davis out?"

"Because she doesn't have the necessary power. She needs a conduit… a way to give her direct access."

Jun, Liam and Nick looked at each other sharply.

"The rose!" Jun said, and dashed out of the house. Dartha looked astonished.

"Why the hell didn't I think of that?" he wondered aloud.

"Because you don't have a mind like Jun's." Liam said cynically. He turned to his ten soldiers. "C'mon lads."

"Where we going, boss?"

"Flower picking."

The troopers looked at each other, sighed, and headed out of the door.

=============================================================

"So you don't mind?" Liam said.

"Oh, Christ no!" Nick replied. "Truth be told, mate, I'm not built for command."

"And why the hell not?" The Irishman asked, gently picking several more flowers out of the wall.

"I don't like giving orders. I'll leave that to you, thankyou very much."

"Thanks." Liam replied wryly. "C'mon, lets get this batch back to the house."

They moved back up the gentle rock slope that led to Dartha's dwelling, the bunches of flowers held under their arms. When they got inside, they found Gennai, Jun and Dartha embroiled in deep discussion.

"I'm still damned annoyed that I didn't figure it out, Gennai." Dartha said.

"I've told you, Tetsato, you weren't the one destined to figure it out. Events here have been building up to loosing the Chana-Paladin on the world, and it was the job of 'The Healer' to discover the necessary knowledge." He gently picked up one of the roses from the table. "You know, it's quite possible that the entire purpose behind the creation of these flowers was to heal Davis."

The Master looked interested at that.

"That would imply that fate has a far more involved role than we'd ever assumed. These things would have to be planned almost a millennium and a half before this point."

"Everything? Even down to my existence?" Jun asked.

"Yes!" Gennai said enthusiastically. "And the knowledge would have been implanted in your subconscious from the very start! There must have been some trigger in our conversation that allowed it to come to the surface!"

Dartha gave him a strange look.

"We're going to have a long talk about this, Gennai, and it might just take us several decades."

"Not right now, Tetsato." He turned to Liam. "Are they ready?"

"The lads are bunching them up now. For trained soldiers, they make surprisingly effective florists."

"And you'd be surprised how many levels of wrong there are in that statement."  Nick added.

Dartha stood. 

"We'd better start then. Lets begin bringing the bunches through."

By the time they were finished, the bedroom in which Davis had been kept looked like a garden centre, with bunches of Arra's Rose hanging from the ceiling, in pots on the floor, and arrayed on the bed. The smell was overpowering, and the strange effect that the flowers had caused them all to experience flashbacks. Jun coughed.

"Jeez… this is worse than med school. What do we do now?"

"Now?" Dartha asked. "Now we wait."

=============================================================

"My name was… is… Arra."

Davis suddenly glared at her.

"I was almost believing you up to that point."

"And what is it that you do believe, Daisuke?"

"I know what I don't believe, and I don't believe that the dead can come back to life."

"But haven't you seen the dead rise before, Daisuke?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"In the cave on the mountain? Do you remember?"

The Memory flashed into Daisuke Motomiya's mind with overpowering strength, almost knocking him down with its force. The cave…Ichiro and his father… it all came washing back. He shook his head.

"Those were spirits. They weren't real."

"What is real to you, Daisuke? Is it what you can see and hear, because all that is what your mind creates for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really believe that this perfect little world is real? the house, the wife, the children."

"Stop it." Davis said, his voice shaking.

"No, I don't think I can. I think you need to be shown the truth before you can free yourself."

"Gekkou… go inside."

"But dad…"

"NOW, Gekkou."

His daughter was silent for a second, then nodded, and went inside. Davis and Arra faced each other across the beach.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly.

"Because there are things you still need to do. I'm going to take you on a journey now, Daisuke, but I need you to accept the invitation."

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, it could break your mind."

Davis looked down at Veemon.

"Are you in on this?"

The little blue Digimon looked down at his feet, and nodded slightly. Davis looked up again.

"If Veemon trusts you, then I can too." Davis said.

Arra nodded.

"Please remember – everything that I will show you is from your own mind. They are the memories you have repressed. And one of them will be the thing you fear the most – even I don't know what that is."

Davis nodded mutely, and glanced back at the house once.

"Forgive me…"

The surges hit him hard and fast, and the scenery around them faded away as images replaced them.

He was standing in Kari's apartment, watching as Flamedramon leapt forward to attack the hulking form of Viramon. He leapt forward, driving his fist at his uncle Paul. He watched with an almost detached interest as Paul twisted his arm behind his back, and felt the pain surge through his body.

He watched as Paul's hand swept up, the small pistol coughing once…

And then the scene changed.

He was in the desert town, running through the mist, his Berettas empty, and the golden-bladed Katana in his hands. His eyes glowed with an inner energy, illuminating the mist around him. He ran forward, slashing the blade through the first commando's chest, leaving a thin line over his heart…

There was hardly any sense of transition, he noted, between one memory and the next.

He was standing atop Paul's tower in the digital world, his katana held in one hand. his uncle was clutching the hand rails at the side of the gantry, yelling a the paladin to leave, telling him that he couldn't hold the tower together much longer. Davis turned, and ran down the steps, as lighting struck the gantry behind him. He barely heard Paul's final farewell.

"Your father would be proud of you…"

There were patches in the memories. Bits were missing. He supposed those were the parts he'd forgotten, or maybe they were unnecessary.

He was fighting Taythe on the snowfield, the golden Katana clashing against the black metal of Taythe's longsword. He turned and glanced back at the woman he loved.

"I love you, Kari…"

And then he was turning, swinging the katana with all his strength, and as the two blades met there was a huge explosion of light…

He was back on the beach, and he was on his knees, crying. Arra stood a small distance away, a sympathetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, Daisuke."

"It's all right. I understand… Grandmother."

The red-haired woman started at the use of the title, then smiled slightly.

"Do you have to call me that? It makes me feel old."

"Erm…"

"Oh, Fine. If it makes you feel better."

"Davis?" Kari said.

She was standing in the door of the house, her brown hair falling down onto her shoulders. Davis turned slowly to face her. Their children were at his wife's side, and the Paladin suddenly felt a wrench as he looked at them, as if for the first time, and realised they weren't real.

He turned, and Veemon scurried off into the bushes.

"Davis! Please, don't go!"

"I have to, Kari."

"You promised me!"

The tears were real. They stained his cheeks as well as any he had ever shed in real life.

"You promised me you'd never leave me, Davis..." she whispered.

He nodded mutely.

"I know, Kari. But I can't stay. This isn't the life I believed it was."

"We are your family, Daisuke!"

He looked up at them.

"You are, Kari. But you're not the family I need. I would love to stay here with you, but I cant. If I'm going to be with you, the real you, I have to leave." He blinked back the tears from his eyes. "I have to be strong, Hikari. I have to leave."

He turned away again, as Veemon came back from the bushes. Clutched in the digimon's hands was his Katana. Davis reached down, and took the sword from him, holding it lightly in his hand. He stuck it in the sand, and walked back to his family. Kneeling, he embraced his twin daughters. Hen he stood, and gently kissed Kari on the mouth. Finally he turned and walked away, pulling the sword from the ground as he went.

"Lets go." He said to Arra.

"Daisuke…"

"Drop it, Grandmother. Lets just go." He glanced over his shoulder. "Before I change my mind." 

They walked up the beach, to the edge of the road. Darkness swarmed in front of their eyes.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Davis asked.

"I'm afraid so. You just have to take the final step."

He turned back, to look down the little path to the white-faced house.

"This is everything I've ever wanted, grandmother."

"I know. But do you really want to live an illusion?"

He turned back and took the step onto the road.

"I guess not." His words echoed back to her.

=============================================================

Jun had fallen asleep whilst watching over Davis. But something startled her out of a dream. She looked down, and saw a hand on her arm. Glancing up, she saw that Davis's eyes were open, and looking up at the ceiling. 

"Welcome back." She said quietly. 

=============================================================

(A/N)

WOO-HOO!!!

Yeah. Anyways, that's the end of this story arc, I'm afraid. Feel free to whine about it, but we're going over to the story of Kari and the other Digidestined for the next five-odd chapters, so this is us leaving Davis for a while.

My new email address is on my profile but just for the record its ben@digifictiondomain.tk (fwweee! Domain name addy!)

Please send me fanart.

Please?

-Ben.


	7. Chapter 6

PART TWO: THE SHADOWED ONES.

Chapter 6:

********

"You wanted to see me?"

The words were meaningless. They weren't even said with any particular tone of malice, but the lack of emotion behind them told Taythe everything she needed to know. Kari didn't like her.

Taythe was surprised at how much that bothered her. The black haired girl was sitting beside her fire, looking for anything like a girl scout on a camping trip. That is, she would if it wasn't for the black longsword that she was absently running her hand along.

"Yes. I did want to see you, miss Kamiya."

"And why is that?"

Taythe sighed.

"Do we have to do this? I have done nothing to offend you."

"If that's what you believe, then you're an idiot."

The black haired girl's eyes narrowed dangerously. Kari didn't even flinch under that ominous gaze, and eventually, Taythe sighed again.

"Sit down."

"I'd rather not."

"I don't particularly care what you feel, miss Kamiya. But as your new ruler, I do expect you to obey me as you would have done the old."

Kari rolled her eyes heavenward, and sat on the opposite side of the fire.

"Tell me about him." Taythe said shortly.

Kari glared at her.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I told you to."

"Do you always expect people to do what you tell them to?"

"It's been a definite pattern in my life so far."

Kari shook her head.

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed today, Taythe. I have nothing to say to you about Davis."

Taythe's eyes narrowed once more, and she gestured to the Shadowmon guard.

"Take Miss Kamiya back to the others."

The Shadowmon didn't move. His size denoted him as being one of the chiefs, the more powerful warriors among the group.

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard," the creature replied. "But I do not see why we are letting these inferior creatures live. I do not wish to obey your orders, Lady Taythe."

Taythe didn't look around, and Kari tensed herself, ready for any opportunity.

"Are you denying your blood oath to me?" the black-haired girl hissed.

Kari glanced around nervously, noting that other Shadowmon had gathered around them to watch the confrontation, which had obviously been building for a while.

"I am denying your wisdom in this, Lady." The Shadowmon stated, loudly enough to be heard by his fellows.

Taythe moved so fast that the creature didn't even have time to react. Kari had only ever seen Davis move that fast, and never from a position of rest to one of motion in mere moments. In that short space of time, Taythe sprang to her feet, pulling the black longsword up, and driving it neatly through the throat of the Shadowmon commander. Black blood fountained onto the ground beneath them, sizzling and evaporating in the fire. The raven-haired girl leaned close to the creatures face.

"You will never disobey me again."

She whipped around, pulling the long straight blade with her, and the Shadowmon's head fell neatly from its shoulders. Taythe glanced at the rest of her troops.

"Let this be a warning. None of you are as needed as you seem to think you are. I any of you feel the driving need to speak his dissension, do so now and meet the same fate as your late comrade."

None of the Shadowmon spoke. Taythe picked one at random from the crowd.

"You are the new commander. Your first duty is to escort Miss Kamiya back to the other Digidestined. Go now, before I decide that you are not suitable for responsibility."

The speed at which the creature moved to obey her was exceptional.

=============================================================

Kari sat down beside the fire with her friends.

"What did she want?" Tai asked.

She shrugged the question off, and sat for a while staring into the flames.

"So…" TK started.

"So what?" 

"Are we gonna make a break for it?"

She looked up at her childhood friend. There was a kind of fire burning in TK's eyes, and his hand was wrapped firmly around that of Tasha, Kari's cousin. Kari suddenly felt very keenly the burden that had been on Davis's shoulders for years. For some reason, the other were looking to her for leadership. Even Tai, who had been the leader of the Digidestined before Davis, was glancing at her. she shook her head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"TK, we have no weapons, no supplies, we're in the middle of the enemy, and we don't even know where the hell we are."

He looked a little sheepish.

"Oh. I guess I didn't think of that."

She grinned at him.

"I thought you hadn't. I appreciate the thought, but we can't really do anything now." 

Tasha smiled grimly.

"Except pray, obviously."

"That's always good."

"You know, you didn't answer Tai's question."

"Huh?" 

"What did Taythe want?"

Kari, almost subconsciously, pulled the sleeping Gatomon over towards her. the long days of marching and the cold had prevented their Digimon from fully regaining their strength after the battle at the snowfield.

"She wanted to know about Davis."

"And what did you tell her."

The brown-haired girl looked up, her eyes flashing.

"Not a single damn thing. I think it annoyed her."

Matt grinned.

"And we wouldn't want that, would we? Can you think why she wants to know?"

Kari stared into the flames.

"I think… in some way… she wants to know him. I don't know why, but when I'm around her, I feel something… like he's right there. In some ways, they're very similar. Just little things, mannerisms, the way her voice sounds…"

She shivered. 

"Its like she's the reflection in the mirror. A parallel of what Davis could have been."

=============================================================

"Kari, you have to talk to Mimi."

"Huh? Why me?"

Tai grinned at her. 

"In case you haven't noticed it, little sister, you're our leader at the moment."

"How did that come around? Was there an election or something?"

"Sure. We held it while you were asleep. After you've talked to Mimi, can you have a few words with Michael as well?"

"Thanks." Kari said Wryly.

Tai was right, though. Ever since the fight on the snowfields, Mimi had been becoming severely withdrawn. Doing even the simplest things now needed prompting. Kari supposed it was shock. She walked over, and sat down next to the older woman.

"Are you okay, Mimi?"

She received a acknowledging grunt in reply. That was a problem as well. Mimi had stopped vocalising. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Mimi shook her head. Kari felt frustration building up inside her. She supposed that this was her own reaction to current events. Her little sparring match with Taythe had proved that her temper was getting shorter.

"Well, you're going to, Mimi, otherwise I'm going to sit here and stare at you. That tends to really annoy people, so I suggest cooperation. 

The older woman closed her eyes briefly, sighed a shuddering breath, and when she opened them, they moved slowly up to focus on Kari's face.

"What precisely is it you wanted me to talk about, Kari?"

"We're all worried about you, you know that?"

"I didn't ask you to be?"

"So we were wasting all that effort? I'm disappointed. I'm very good at worrying."

Despite herself, Mimi smiled. The grin started with her eyes, and worked its way down to her jaw.

"There. That's better. Why don't you try and keep that expression. Now tell me what's wrong."

The grin faded into a sad half-smile.

"He told me to remember him, Kari."

"Liam?" 

She nodded.

"I think he knew that he wasn't going to make it out of that one. He gave all his hope to me…" she started to cry, fat remorseful tears. "Why didn't I see it, Kari? Why didn't I see how he felt, and talk to him about it when I had the chance?"

"I think that we've all been a bit offbeat recently. It wasn't your fault, Mimi. He chose not to tell you." she smiled. "And what's this about you not getting to tell him?"

Mimi brushed ineffectually at the tears on her face.

"Kari, I don't need to be coddled. Davis has a chance of being alive. Liam doesn't. That was the whole point of what he did – he sacrificed himself for us."

"So are you gonna dishonour that sacrifice by giving up?"

The older woman's eyes turned steely.

"Never."

"Then just remember that."

She stood.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Kari."

"Welcome."

She walked over to where a blonde young man was sitting apart from the rest of the group. The separation was as much self-imposed as it was enforced by the other Digidestined. Despite the fact that they all knew Michael hadn't had much of a choice when he had betrayed the Digidestined at Coast town, it seemed that people found it easier to keep on hating to forgive. 

Michael was doing a pretty good job of hating himself right about now.

She sat down next to the blonde man.

"Are you okay?"

He ignored her, and continued staring gloomily into the fire. She began to feel the irritation building up again.

"Michael, Pretending I'm not here wont make me go away."

"Pity. I thought it might just work."

His voice was cold, unfriendly. He was trying to lock her out, and she couldn't allow that at this moment.

"Don't do that, Michael. You'll piss me off."

"Leave me alone, Kari."

"I cant do that. I seem to have been elected leader, so I have to make sure that everyone's okay."

"I'm fine."

"I don't believe that, and I don't think that you do either, so lets cut the bullshit and get down to you telling em what the hell is wrong with you."

"You know damn well what's wrong with me, Kari." He growled. "Its my fault that we're here. Its my fault that Liam is gone and Davis… your…"

"Michael… what happened on that snow field isn't important right now. What is, is that we stick together. You were with us when we were in the underground village. It was your destiny to do what you did."

She swivelled round, and looked into his eyes.

"I'm not going to forgive or condone what you did, because that is something you have to do yourself. Just remember, when you feel ready, you're welcome to join the rest of us."

And she turned and walked away, back to the others.

=============================================================

Taythe sat by her fire, alone, and stared into the glowing embers. She hadn't slept a wink that night. Indeed, she hadn't slept since the duel with Daisuke. Not properly, anyway. When she did close her eyes for long enough, her mind was haunted by dreams.

Dreams of a shadowed figure, holding a Golden katana. She knew it was impossible. That sword lay in a thousand shards over the snowfield. It would be impossible to prepare it. 

The worst thing was, the dreams weren't even nightmares. Nightmares she could have dealt with, but these dreams gave her such a sense of peace that's he found herself wanting to sleep, just to feel that alien sensation again.

She spat into the fire, and cursed herself for her weakness. She would dream again, but she would resist the silent invitation of those dreams. She would slap away the hand that gently held itself out to her. She would spit in the face of the man who dared to offer her his palm. Her, the new ruler of the digital world! It's new queen!

For that was what she was, wasn't she? A queen. She had won the rule of the digital world by trial at arms, fair and square, in an open duel. 

So why was she so afraid. She had never had any doubts before, when the task had been before her, with so many barriers in the way. Why now was she afraid to take what was rightfully hers? 

She shivered, and pulled her cloak tight around her. Unlike the Shadowmon, she did feel the cold. She lay down next to the remains of the fire, and closed her eyes, fearfully. For she knew that the dream would come, and with it would come the terrible thought that she didn't have to do this.

And the feeling of peace, that she craved so much.

=============================================================================

(A/N)

Well, I hope that will tide you over for another while. Its not often that I'm so late with an update, but it's the Easter holidays over here, so my connection is a complete and utter bitch. Basically, if this chapter left you with more questions than answers, I know I've done my work well. Heh.

Other than that. Not much to say, other than "Send me fanart, DAMN YOU!!!" It doesn't matter if you've sent me some before, I just want fanart to post on my site! Pictures of Shadowmon, Liam, Tasha, Taythe, or any of my OC's would be cool. But anything is good, so send send send!!!!

-Ben.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

********

The dream was the same again. She stood in the darkness, surrounded by things that snarled from the black veil that her eyes could not pierce. She shrank back from them, fear rising in her throat and crawling up her spine like some demented demon. She drew her sword to fend them off, but the dark blade melted away before her eyes, dissolving into the air.

And then he appeared, a figure shrouded in gold, with a bright-bladed katana in his hand. He drove away the dark shadows, and a feeling of peace pervaded her mind, making her feel safe and welcome. 

The figure held out his hand to her, and she reached to take the offered palm…

=============================================================

 Taythe woke from the dream, and gasped. It had been stronger this time, and she didn't know how much longer she could resist.

But no… that was a lie, wasn't it? Amazing.

She could even lie to herself. She didn't know how people could cope with this. All these emotions building up inside her?

Taythe had not had what could be called a conventional childhood. She had been told that emotions were a weakness, something to be oppressed at all costs. 

And it seemed that they had been right. Daisuke had fought with his emotions, and she had beaten him. She had emerged victorious…

Hadn't she?

=============================================================

They marched all of that day, and long into the next, before they finally reached their destination. The mountain region of the digital world was a area of snow-covered peaks and deep, dangerous ravines. 

And at the centre of it all was the fortress of the dragon lords. Kari and the Digidestined were urged roughly into a wide circular room, its domed ceiling seeming to stretch high out of sight.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Tai quipped.

"Just like back in Paul's tower." Matt replied. "I feel at home already."

Kari grinned. If the two boys could joke like that, then she didn't have too much to worry about. She turned as Taythe stepped into the room, and walked along he narrow carpet to a dais. On the dais was a throne, and it was all Kari could do to prevent herself from laughing. When Taythe turned, and settled herself onto the seat, she looked for all the world like a child playing with a toy. 

"I am the new ruler of the digital world. I have defeated the Paladin in combat, and I claim my prize." The raven-haired girl announced.

"Ooh, look who's a big girl now…" Gatomon whispered down her partner's ear. Kari hastily stifled a giggle, as Taythe continued to speak.

"As the new ruler, I hereby summon those who shalt enforce mine will upon thee, and cast away those disparaged ones who displease mine eye."

"What was that about?" Tai said in a stage whisper to Matt and Sora. 

"How the hell should I know? I couldn't understand a word she was saying?" Matt whispered back.

Kari had kept her eyes on Taythe the whole time, and had seen the dangerous flicker in her eyes as Tai and Matt had played their game. She turned to them, and spoke loudly enough to be heard

"Alright. Enough. I like both of you too much to have to explain to your parents why your heads were cut off."

They grinned slyly, and nodded. As they turned back to the Dais, Taythe raised her Digivice. White light span from the closed hand, and shone towards the twelve podiums situated around the wall, dazzling the Digidestined, who flinched away. When they turned back, the podiums were no longer empty. On each of them, in a circle around the room, sat one of the huge dragons that Edenamon had faced on the snowfield. Kari felt something drain from her as she looked at the huge creatures. She knew that they could not stand against that much amassed power. Taythe sat on her throne, smiling a cold smile.

"And now, I am truly the ruler."

=============================================================

The newly anointed regent of the digital world decided that evening to entertain her prisoners. The dejected Digidestined were marched into the citadel's banqueting hall, where, at the head of the long table, the raven-headed girl awaited her guests. Taythe's face was cool, almost calm as she watched them enter. 

"Welcome." She said simply. "Please have a seat."

None of them moved. Taythe sighed, and leant back in her seat.

"Don't make me use force, Digidestined. I'm sure you've noticed that I have absolutely no problem with that."

The group glanced at each other, and sat. Taythe looked around at them.

"Dinner will be served in a short while. However I thought we could take this opportunity beforehand to talk."

Kari fixed her with a level gaze, as Gatomon sat beside her on the wide seat.

"I don't think we have anything to talk about."

"I want you to tell me about the paladin."

"No."

"It wasn't a request."

"And that's still my answer."

"I have ways to make you tell me."

"Been there, done that. When you're on a par with Malomyotismon, give it another try."

Taythe grinned, and Kari shivered. It was like the smile of a corpse, cold and without any trace of good humour behind it.

"I didn't think that you would cooperate, Miss Kamiya. But like I said, I have ways of making you do what I want."

She stood, and started pacing around the table, until she was standing behind Kari. They brown-haired Digidestined didn't turn round to look at her nemesis. Taythe sighed.

"Guards!"

Two Shadowmon came into the room, and stood silently a little distance away. Taythe looked around the table, and her gaze finally settled on Mimi.

"Kill that one." 

The foul creatures drew their swords, and started forward. 

"No!" Kari yelled.

Taythe stopped the Shadowmon's movements with a brief gesture of her hand.

"You will cooperate?"

Kari still didn't turn to face her enemy, but instead looked down at the table, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"I'll cooperate." She said bitterly, the taste of defeat filling her mouth.

"Good." 

Taythe turned to the Shadowmon.

"Take the rest to join the others. Miss Kamiya and I will talk, and she will be along to join them presently."

Sora looked up Sharply.

"The others?"

Taythe's dead smile crawled across her face once more, a nauseating smirk of condescension. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She said. "I'm afraid we captured the other Digidestined as they were trying to get away on the boats. If its any consolation, none of the were hurt." She laughed viciously. "Things REALLY didn't go well for you at coast city, did they?"

The Digidestined's faces were dejected as they were escorted from the room.

=============================================================

Tai quickly settled back into his standard position as leader after that point. Kari was still being held in the dining hall, and the Shadowmon were escorting the rest of them deep into the bowels of the citadel.

"Where we heading, Tai?" Matt asked.

"Bud, when I develop telepathy, I'll let you know." Came the acid reply.

They moved through the fortress in near darkness, and as their eyes gradually became accustomed to the dim light, they became aware of rough walls, no longer the smooth stone that had been so readily apparent in the halls upper levels.

Finally, they stopped in front of a large door. There, the Shadowmon walked back along the lines and moved off into the passageway behind them, their receding footsteps gradually quieting in the repressive darkness. 

It was the two new guards who were now facing them that startled Tai the most, however. 

They were human, clad in the same style body armour that Paul's troops had been the year before, and carrying rifles that looked as if they had never been used.

"Who…?" Matt started.

"No talking!" the first guard said, cutting him off. The second one took a bunch of keys from his belt, and opened the door behind him.

The Digidestined were shepherded through, and suddenly arrived in something akin to the tenth level of hell. 

There were other humans around them, dirty and wasted, their eyes dim. They were chained to each other by long shackles that were in turn bound to a rail cart. Among them, they had picks and shovels, and were dully taking some form of rock to the cart. Another rifle-toting guard stood watch from about ten feet away. 

Before they could even ask so much as what was going on, they were pushed roughly down another corridor, and the people behind them were gone. When they were finally allowed to stop, it was in the only brightly lit room they had seen. A woman stood in the middle of the room. she was a big woman, taller than Tai, and she was dressed in army fatigues. In one hand she carried a long leather riding crop.

"I am Wentela. As of this moment, you are my slaves. If you work, you will get fed. If you don't, then you will not. tomorrow morning, you will receive your equipment, and then you will begin mining."

Tai, being the person he was, was not someone who was very accustomed to taking orders.

"Erm… excuse me?"

Wentela froze, and turned slowly to stare at him. Slowly, deliberately, she raised the riding crop, and slammed it down across the young mans face. 

"YOU WILL SPEAK ONLY WHEN I ALLOW YOU TO SPEAK!!!" she roared. 

Tai, an angry red welt across his face, clenched his fist, only to find Agumon's claw on his arm. Wentela looked at the small dinosaur with obvious distaste.

"Take their Digimon away, and put them with the others."

As the guards moved in, Tai glared at the woman, who smirked back.

"Welcome to the mines, Digidestined."

=============================================================

"You were his lover, weren't you?"

The question was put so boldly that it caught Kari off guard, and she glanced up at Taythe, who was seated across the table from her.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"How long had you known him for?"

"I've known Davis since we were twelve. He was in my classes at school."

"You have known him a long time. Was he always so impetuous?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we were fighting, he always seemed to be on the attack. He left almost no room for defence, and that was why his counters were so sloppy."

Kari leant back, and looked down at her feet. Gatomon was curled up beside the chair, and although her eyes were closed, Kari knew that the little cat-Digimon was listening to every word.

"Davis was… a very fast moving person. Once he got going, trying to dissuade him from a course was almost impossible. He thought that he could shoulder all the burdens for the rest of us, and just make them go away."

"He cared for everyone under his command?"

"We weren't 'under his command'. He would ask us, and if we felt that it was a good idea, we'd carry it out."

She sighed.

"Davis's view of leadership was that a leader should be the one who is in first, out last, and patches things up. There was more to it for him than just yelling orders and expecting them to be carried out. That's not leadership, that's dictatorship"

"And that was why he failed."

"Huh?"

"A leader should expect to be obeyed, not merely tolerated. Daisuke was a fool."

To Kari, Taythe sounded like someone trying to justify herself.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be able to discuss that with him in person."

"I doubt it. That wound I gave him would be enough to kill even him. The power of the paladin could protect him no longer."

"Taythe, better people than you have tried to kill Davis, and none of them have succeeded yet, somehow I doubt you're gonna be the first. Believe me, Davis is alive and well, and he's not gonna leave his friends in your hands."

=============================================================================

(a/n)

Yeah, I know, it's a fairly crappy chapter. I'm doing a very serious amount of plot stretching at this point. ^_^;;

Okay, here's how it goes:

In approximately 2 months, it is my birthday. My 18th birthday (wow, an 18 year old Digimon fan, lol!) 

But anyways, I've got an idea for a little contest this year. At first, I considered a Daikari story, but then I remembered that I've got an OC whose surprisingly popular.

So I want a Liam Dillon story! Liam/Mimi isn't essential, but its nice. My favourites will be displayed on my  site, for all to see, along with (if you have one!) a link to your site!

Latest entry date is 20th June. Go on, give it a try!!!

In other news: the digifiction domain has gone over 6000 hits! YAY!!! 

Ja ne!

-Ben


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

********

TK wiped the sweat out of his eyes, and looked bleakly at the rock face in front of him. Hoisting his pick again, he slammed it into the obsidian surface, raising sparks from the blade. Beside him, Michael was hoisting his own tool.

"Well, this is fun." He said.

"Yeah, pretty soon we'll all start singing."

"Hi ho, hi ho…"

TK laughed. He was surprised at how good it felt. He'd had very little to laugh about over the past few weeks. Laughing felt somehow alien, a memory from long ago. Again, TK was surprised at how quickly Kari's invitation for him to rejoin them had extended from the rest of them as well. Except for Mimi. That was going to take some time. He flinched as the bruises on his shoulders started to ache again.

"She isn't taking it any easier, is she?"

"Heh. Never expected her to."

The beatings that Wentela inflicted upon him didn't really bother TK. She was strong, but he could take a few lashes every now and again. The problem was that Wentela was determined to break their spirits. She seemed to know exactly what to do to break down the defences that the Digidestined had built up around themselves, and she was going at it with all her might.

He heard the clanking sound of the Cart coming down the rails, and groaned. 

"Here we go again. You ready?"

"You gonna start provoking her again?"

"Hell, yes."

"Then we're ready."

"Good man."

TK looked up as Wentela stepped down from the cart, her oversized body looking strangely comical in the cramped space of the tunnel. The riding crop was in her hand.

"Is it me, or do you smell something?" he said loudly.

"No. Not really." Michael replied.

"Yeah, something really foul. Makes me want to throw up…"

He looked the big woman dead in the face.

"Oh. Hello Wentela. Didn't see you there."

The riding crop hissed through the air, lashing him across the face. His head snapped to the side.

"You will only speak, slave…"

"When you tell us to speak, yeah, yeah. You know, hitting people is the sign of emotional insecurity."

=============================================================

"Why have you called me back here again, Taythe?"

"It's nice to see you too, Hikari."

"I have nothing more to say to you, or are you gonna try threatening my friends again?"

The black-haired girl turned away from the large fireplace in her chamber, and straightened up to look at Kari, her grey eyes like shadows in the recesses of her face. Kari glared straight back at her nemesis, although she didn't give Taythe the satisfaction of appearing angry.

"Taythe, I've cursed the very day I ever laid eyes on you. What do you want?"

"You to stop being melodramatic for a start."

"I mean every word."

"I'm sure you do."

There was a silence between them, stretching away into the minutes. Finally, Taythe sighed.

"There is someone I'd like you to meet."

"If they're anything like you, deeply not caring."

"This is the person who raised me, Hikari. Watch your mouth."

She walked to a side door to the room, and gestured for Kari to walk through it. The current leader of the Digidestined did so, and found herself faced with an office. Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man, with his black hair tied neatly in a bunch at the nape of his neck

"Greetings, lady Hikari."

He wasn't a large man, but the moment Kari stepped into the same room as him; she felt the overwhelming presence of his personality. Nevertheless, she decided not to let it daunt her.

"I understand you're the one responsible for Little Miss Sunshine over there." She said abruptly.

"And so well phrased, too."

"I told you she was like this, Father."

Kari's eyes widened.

"This is your father?"

"Our relationship is slightly more complex than that. But allow me to introduce myself."

He stood from behind the desk, and directed the full force of his searching gaze on her.

"My name is Derron. Derron Motomiya."

=============================================================

"When did they come and get her?" Tai demanded.

Tasha looked up, bleary eyed. 

"Must've been about an hour ago. Seems our most majestic majesty," her words had a mocking tone. "Felt the need for Kari's company again."

They were sitting in the sleeping space that had been provided for them. It was basically a natural cell in the rock, little more than twenty feet square. The seven of them had been cramped into the confined space for over a week now, and no matter how small it was, it was home.  

"That's becoming an appallingly regular occurrence." Matt said quietly. "Taythe seems to call on Kari at least once a day, and Kari always comes back with no new information."

"And Taythe always wants to know about Davis." Tai added thoughtfully. "Do you think she has suspicions that she didn't kill him?"

"I don't think its anything like that." Matt said. "I think that Taythe just doesn't understand Davis."

"What do you mean by that?" the usually silent Mimi asked intently.

Matt, to his credit, didn't show any surprise at Mimi speaking. If anything, he had been waiting for it to happen. Hoping was probably a more correct term, actually. Before he could reply, however, the cart rattled to a halt outside the entrance to their cell. All of the chambers in the mine were connected by that Underground Railroad, and the Digidestined had learned to dread the sound of that rattling approach. Mimi seemed to shrink once more into her shell, and Tai almost groaned when he saw the contents of the cart. 

Michael, his shoulders slumped, helped the barely conscious TK down from the cart. The blonde mans hair was stained a dirty reddish colour, matted with blood. Tasha gave a cry and ran to him, helping Michael lower the wounded man to the ground. 

Wentela stepped down from the cart, her bulk filling the entrance to the chamber.

"Your friend here…" she tapped TK with her foot, "Thinks that it is smart to insult me." She grinned maliciously. "Allow me to demonstrate the futility of any such attempts at comedy."

She scanned the group, and her gaze fell on the huddled form of Mimi.

"Bring her to me." 

One of the guards moved forward, whilst the other two levelled their rifles at the Digidestined. The guard grabbed Mimi by the arm, and dragged her across the floor to Wentela's feet. The stunned girl looked up at her captor, blinking to clear the dust from her eyes. The big woman reached down and took hold of the girls chin.

"So young, so pretty." She smiled again. "I used to be a warden at a women's prison, you know that? I used to have to deal with vapid whores and adulterous wives every day, and I made them see the error of their ways. I'll do the same for you, honey. You picked the wrong damn side in this war, and you're going to regret it. Wentela isn't my really name, y'know. It's an ancient language, long lost, of a people who lived in the digi-world, and nit means Dark Queen. And that's what I am, honey, I'm the queen of this place. Taythe may rule me, but this place is mine. And I wont take disrespect from anybody!"

She raised her fist, ready to slam it down into Mimi's face, but at the last instant, Michael rose from his crouching position beside the unconscious TK, and launched himself at the big woman. He slammed into her, knocking her off balance as he pushed Mimi back and away. he crouched, readying himself.

Wentela stood, pushing herself away from the wall, and her eyes blazed with a red fire of fury.

"How… dare… you…" she panted. 

Reaching down to her side, she pulled a Glock 17 automatic from her hip holster. The gun looked strangely like a toy in the big woman's hand. She levelled the weapon at Michael.

"You pathetic little bastard. You think you can protect her? You think you can protect anyone?"

She pulled the trigger, and the guns report sounded like a thunderclap in the confined space. Michael, his eyes widening, looked down at the red stain that spread on his shirt. Then he collapsed to his knees, and fell face forward into the dust. Wentela waved the gun maniacally at the rest of the Digidestined.

"Any of you who tries something like that will get exactly the same. Get that," she gestured at Michael's body with the Glock's barrel. "Piece of shit out of here. Throw it out with the rest of the trash."

=============================================================

"Excuse me? Did you say Derron MOTOMIYA?" Kari asked incredulously.

"What, did you think that your boyfriends family were the only ones who still possessed that name?"

Derron laughed at the look of shock on Kari's face.

"Oh, don't take it to heart. We haven't made ourselves know to the rest of the family since the age of the dragon lords. You see, my family is descended from Taneka Motomiya, the older brother of Ichiro Motomiya." 

He looked into Kari's eyes, and there was a smirk there, something indefinably cruel.

"So you see my dear, Taythe is the one to whom leadership of the digital world truly belongs. Ichiro was a usurper, who through his rebellion against the Dragon-Lords gained the power to conquer the digital world."

"That's not how it happened… The Dragon-Lords were tyrants…"

The blow came out of nowhere, and the strength behind it surprised Kari. She staggered, and regained her balance to look into Taythe's eyes. The black-haired girls face was seething with fury.

"Don't you ever say that in my presence again, Hikari. The Dragon-Lords were the greatest rulers this world or any other has ever seen."

It occurred to Kari that the raven-haired girl actually believed every word she was saying. She was staring into the blazing eyes of a fanatic. She could have humoured the girl, played along. But something of Davis sparked deep inside her, and she felt her will solidify.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I intruding on your mental anguish here Taythe? Get over it. The Dragon-Lords were Tyrants, who ruled with their armies instead of their minds. Ichiro was a brave man who went against them, despite the possibility of losing everything he owned and loved. Gennai wouldn't have trusted him any other way."

"Gennai?" Derron spat. "Do not mention that name! He is the man who corrupted a whole generation of my family with his lies! He is the being who plays god over the creatures of the digital world! He manipulates people without conscience! He is worse than the Paladin!"

Kari sensed an opening, and took it.

"And that's your problem, isn't it? You fear the Paladin. You fear his strength. You fear the power of all that goodness."

Derron stood, and suddenly seemed to grow very large. The light sin the room appeared to dim. 

"Gennai manipulated Ichiro Motomiya into killing his older brother, Hikari. Gennai is the evil one here, not us. He is the one who needs to be eliminated, along with all his legacy, the Paladin!"

He smiled and laid a hand on his young daughters shoulder.

"And Taythe here will be the one to do it."

=============================================================

The garbage chute opened directly onto the hillside, made from a natural shaft out of the caves and having been used for precisely the same purpose when the Dragon-Lords were ruling the digital world. now that the fortress of the Dragon-Lords was re-occupied, with all of its slave labour underside back in place, the chute was once again seeing a large amount of use.

From the mouth of the chute, the daily pile of junk – food, bottles and human waste, tumbled unceremoniously down the hillside. Most of the liquid would be absorbed by the porous rock of the hillside, and recycled by the digital-worlds natural functions into nutrients that would feed the plant life on the lower plain.

But from the chute there tumbled something else today. A blonde headed young man fell from the mouth of the open tube, and slammed into the cliff face beneath. His side was a mass of blood, and the stink from the ride down the garbage tube was overpowering. 

When he reached a ledge, and rolled to a stop, he started to groan. Lifting his head, the blonde man looked up at the imposing fortress on the mountain above him, and then, with an effort of pure will, got to his feet and started to stagger down the mountain. Wounded, bleeding and raw, Michael had only one thought on his mind.

'Gotta find help… gotta find Davis…'

=============================================================

(A/N)

And now the story starts to get fun again. At least to write it does. 

I wont lie to ya'll. I wasn't enjoying this story angle one little bit, but now that its progressed again I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. ^_^. 

Sorry the chapters a little late this week. I write my fanfictions on my laptop, and it appears that Compaq have had the foresight to continue bleeding money out of me by making their AC adaptors so they die on me at least once a year. So I couldn't actually turn my laptop on for the better part of last week, cos they also make really piss-poor batteries.

In case you're wondering why Michael's getting a sub-plot to himself, well, I felt sorry for the little bugger. I didn't give him a good time in the last story. ^_^

Kaeera asked about my little competition that I set in the last chapter. Yes, you do have a completely free reign over Liam's character for it. And yes, I do still want as many of Liam's fans to participate as possible. Don't try and deny it. You know who you are. (So far as I know, he's one of the few OC's around with his own fanclub!) to rehash: for my birthday, on the 27th June, I would like people to send me a Liam/Mimi story. The ones I like best, or alternatively the ones that get sent in, will be posted on my website, most probably with a Link back to the Author. Considering I got around 100 hits a night a couple of times last week, it's the best publicity I can give. ^_^

JA ne!

Ben.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

********

Agumon scrabbled at the dirt, his claws digging deep into the ground, throwing a cloud of dust into the air around him.

"You know, you look really funny when you do that." Gabumon commented from a couple of feet away.

"You could help, you know."

"Why would I do that, when you're clearly having so much fun?"

"Alright, knock it off, you two."

Gatomon's voice cut through the air like a knife, knocking the other two Digimon into silence. Armadillomon regarded the cat-Digimon with a grateful look.

"Thanks."

"No prob."

Gatomon relaxed back against the walls of their cell, and looked around her at the various occupants. Every single miner's Digimon was here, and all of them looked disconsolate. Her enquiries in the early days of their incarceration had led her to believe that, as Taythe had said, none of the Digidestined had escaped from coast city. Yet try as she might, there was one Digimon she couldn't find – Terriermon. That gave her some degree of hope. If Willis was still out there, then at least there was some chance that Davis and Veemon would have help.

Because, Like Kari, Gatomon believed that Davis was still alive. She didn't know what condition he was in, but she knew deep down in her heart that he was still out there somewhere, biding his time and waiting for a moment to return.

She shook away the thought, as Agumon fell headfirst into the hole with a muffled yelp. Gabumon immediately dived after his friend, grabbing hold of the other Digimon's legs before he disappeared completely. Gatomon ran over, her tail ring clinking gently against the floor in her haste.

"What the hell happened?" She asked.

A muffled reply filtered up from the hole. Gatomon sighed.

"Please, pull him out of there. Its hard enough to understand him when he's NOT talking through three feet of rock."

Gabumon pulled, and Agumon popped backwards out of the hole.

"I said, there's a whole other cave underneath this one. It doesn't look like its being used, though."

Gatomon nodded.

"That could be useful. If nothing else, it'll give us a way to search for the others."

"Where do you think they'll be?"

"Somewhere close by. Our links don't seem to be stretched."

=============================================================

Michael hid in the gully, and pressed a hand to the wound in his chest. He was finding it hard to breathe, and he knew that could only mean one thing – that the bullet had pierced his lung.

He could hear the Shadowmon nearby, and he crouched down in the dirt, listening to the inhuman howls and growls from the creatures. 

Darkness encroached on his vision, and he shook it off. He couldn't afford to lose consciousness, not now. If he did, then he might not wake up. The blood loss was starting to get to him, he knew. He had to find some way back to the cave that the Masters people lived in, the subterranean village that held his one and only source of hope.

Because underneath it all, Michael still wanted redemption. He wanted the forgiveness of the people whom he had wounded so badly. Despite Kari's words, he still had to forgive himself for betraying the other Digidestined at Coast town. He hadn't done anything lately that he felt equalled up to helping him repent his past sins.

He felt a rush of adrenaline, and got to his feet as he heard the growls fade into the distance. He wasn't a paladin, or even a warrior, but he was damned if he was going to let his friends suffer in that mine any more than necessary.

=============================================================

Kari had spat Derron's words back into his face, and she had the bruises to prove it. Taythe had gotten really angry after the Digidestined's fierce rebuke, and Taythe most definitely seemed to prefer a more physical form of retribution.

She lay on the sleeping pad, and stared at the ceiling. Physically, she was exhausted, but her troubled mind refused to let her drift into blissful unconsciousness. She still felt the compelling urge to sleep, but she could also feel the doubt that gnawed away at her resolve.

What if Derron was right? What if Davis' family were just usurpers to the throne? What if Taythe really was the one destined to rule? What if fate, after all this time, had dealt them a crueller hand than they had ever expected?

Despite her thoughts, pure exhaustion finally took over, and she drifted off into sleep.

=============================================================

Derron, on the other hand, was far from tired, despite the fact that Taythe slept soundly in the room next door. He sat in his study, and looked down at the sword on his desk. 

The silver Katana was the weapon of Taneka Motomiya, and it had been wielded by one of the Digidestined – the blonde one, Takeru. It should belong to him! It shouldn't have been sullied by the hands of one of Gennai's brats! 

Derron reached down, and placed his hand on the hilt of the silver weapon. 

A surge of energy ran through his body, causing him to convulse in his seat, a spasm running through him. Thrown back, he slammed against the wall, his chair toppling to the ground. The silver Katana hadn't moved from its place on the table.

"It'll never accept you, y'know." Came a cynical voice from the corner of the room.

Derron spun, and looked up at where Gennai was leaning casually against the wall, a slight smile on his face.

"How dare you come here." He hissed, his voice full of hatred. "How dare you desecrate this holy place!"

Gennai looked startled.

"Holy place? Did I make a wrong turn at Albuquerque?" The young man looked around, his ancient eyes taking in his surroundings. "Nope. I'm in the right place – and its about as holy as Satan's toilet."

Derron snarled, and launched himself at Gennai. His fist lashed out in a brutal punch, capable of cracking a skull if placed right. 

It never connected. Hardly seeming to move, Gennai's head shifted backwards, and the punch passed a mere fingers-width in front of his eyes. Before Derron could strike again, the guardian of the digital world had gripped the man's arm, and pushed him away.

"If you're going to act like a child, Derron, then you have no place at this meeting. In case you've forgotten, your little act doesn't wash with me, and since I, unlike you, knew Taneka Motomiya personally, your ability to rewrite history in your own head doesn't even impress me very much."

"You bastard!"

"Such naughty language. What an example you're setting for Taythe."

Derron clasped his hands together, summoning his will. A ball of incandescent flame formed at his clasped palms, and he threw it at the Guardian. Gennai caught the ball in mid throw, and looked at it with disdain. Then, with a quick puff of breath, he blew the fireball out.

"Still using your old tricks. How pathetic. Fortunately, I didn't come here to talk to you."

"And who are you here to see? Hikari? That scared little girl, who thinks she's a leader?"

"Oh, I don't need to talk to Kari. She's stronger than you believe. There are others who can help her deal with her problems. No, I'm here to talk to someone much closer to your heart."

"Who… no!"

Derron spluttered the protest as Gennai's hand flickered. The man's eyes suddenly faded, and became covered with a black sheen. He hissed a few words in the language of the Shadowmon. Gennai rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't do that. It doesn't impress me much anymore."

Derron's eyes narrowed, and when the voice spoke, it was still quiet and hissing, but understandable.

"Very well. What is it you want, Gennai?"

"I've come to lay a few ground rules. You've had your fun, but the game starts in earnest now."

"All the pieces are in place, then?"

"They are. The Chana-paladin will awaken soon enough, after his transition."

"Ah, so the fun will begin soon."

"If you can call it fun. By the way, neither my master nor myself are happy about the way you're treating the Digidestined."

"How I treat my slaves is my own business, Gennai. When I choose to let you in on my rule, it will be as one of them."

"Really, deeply not going to happen."

"Whatever. What are the rules you have come to discuss?"

"Whatever? My god, you're turning into a valley girl."

"I'm working with Derron's vocabulary. Get on with it."

"Very well. My master concedes that the only way to continue the game is to mine Oridian. That said, he will not tolerate the opening of the portal before the appointed time."

"Agreed."

"Secondly, you are not to interfere with the minds of the Digidestined. They are the ones who will make the choice, so their minds must be clear."

"…Agreed." 

"Dow I sense reluctance? Isn't that a shame."

"Don't make me angry, Gennai. Next?"

"The Forge is now officially off limits. Any attempt by either your vessel, the Shadowmon  or any other of your forces will be met with the full resistance of our power.

"My opposite has gotten so picky lately. Agreed."

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted. You can go back to sleep now."

"There's no need to be obnoxious about it."

The black sheen over Derron's eyes faded, to be replaced by the disorientated look of confusion. Gennai grinned maliciously.

"I never get tired of doing that."

"What did you…?"

"Oh, I've finished my business here. I'm sure that your master will fill you in on the messy details afterwards."

He turned away, towards the door, but stopped to cast one final barb over his shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, The Paladin is far from dead. And I'm sure he's going to be VERY annoyed when he wakes up.  If you start running now, you might just escape him."

He opened the door.

"But I doubt it. Give Taythe my best. Ta-ta."

The door closed with a gentle click behind him. Derron scurried after the man, and opened the door, but no trace that Gennai had ever been there remained. He walked back to his desk, and sat down behind it. So wrapped he was in his own thoughts, that he didn't even notice his hands were shaking.

=============================================================

Gatomon listened as the guard stepped in through the door, but didn't dare risk blowing the game by opening her eyes to check what was going on. She heard the regular thud of booted feet as the guard walked around the room, making sure that the Digimon were truly asleep fortunately, being based on a cat, Gatomon could appear to be asleep whether she truly was or not.

The guard stepped past her and she heard the sound of the door gently sliding shut again, followed by the rattling of the cart as it sped away down the tunnel. She opened her amber eyes, which glinted mischievously in the darkness. Moving swiftly, she crept over to Agumon, and shook him awake. The dinosaur's eyes opened almost immediately, and he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Get everyone moving. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Got it. Any idea where we're heading?"

"At the moment, I'm looking as far into the future as 'the hell out of this chamber.'"

"Great. And then?"

"Then we're gonna have to work on the plan a little. But if we get into the chamber underneath, and cover our way out, at least they wont know where we've gone."

Agumon sighed, and got to his feet, moving among the other Digimon and waking them up.

"Y'know, there's gotta be a better way to make a living."

=============================================================

Kari tossed and turned in her sleep, her brow covered in sweat, and her dreams haunted by fears unrealised.

What if Derron was right? What if Davis was destined to lose? What if the man she loved was doomed to fail in this vital mission? How could she face the world without him?"

"You are stronger than you think, Hikari Kamiya."

She spun in the dream-darkness, and stared into the kindly eyes of the young man whom she had never thought to meet. She knew immediately why he was here.

"Have you come to help me?"

"That I have, Hikari. Do you know me?"

"How could I not know you?"

"Well, it was always a possibility."

The casual tone threw her, and she blinked. He grinned at her.

"What? Cheer up, Kari. The games not over yet."

"Of course not, Ichiro."

=============================================================

(A/N)

I hope you folks appreciate the fact that I'm writing this in my holiday. *Grins*

But anyways, it makes a nice change from exams, that's for sure! Yup, that time of year is upon me, but fortunately it doesn't collide with my writing timetable this year. I don't know whether I'll get the next chapter up on time (In case you haven't noticed, I post the chapters on alternate weeks!) because I'm moving my website to a new server in the near future (Or, alternatively, watching my new Rurouni Kenshin DVD). I've finally gotten so pissed off with Tripod that I'm moving to Freewebpage.org instead. If I remember correctly, the new addy will be:

Although I could be wrong. ^_^;;

There isn't much to see there at the moment. I'm going to throw together a fancy "Coming soon" page in the near future.

Moving on! I hope that anyone entering my competition has started! The deadlines in less than a month now folks! The 27th June is the closing date, so if you want to enter, get cracking!!! The details are in the authors notes on the past couple of chapters.

I think that covers everything! 

JA NE!!!!


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

*********

The puddle was muddy, lukewarm, and smelt like something had crawled into it and died. 

To Michael, it looked like an oasis. He half-collapsed beside it, and scooped some of the disgusting water into his mouth. Ignoring the impulse to gag, he continued to drink until his thirst was slaked. 

He lay back against the rock at the side of the puddle, and put his head back. He knew he was near now. The end was in sight. The only thing he couldn't predict was how the others would react to his presence in the group again. Davis, he knew, would accept him, if only for the news of Kari that he would bring. The troopers though… he had been the cause of their leader's death. 

But he couldn't stop. He had to keep going, for as long as it took. He got to his feet again, wincing as the movement pulled at the wound in his chest. His head felt faint, but he resolutely carried on walking.

=============================================================

TK was sleeping near the entrance to the chamber, Tasha with her head on his shoulder, when they heard the scratching. One of the blonde man's eyes crept open, and his head twitched slightly as he listened to the strange sounds.

"TK?" Tasha said sleepily. "What is it?"

"I don't know."  He said quietly. 

Gently he helped her lean away from him, and stood, allowing his senses to reach out into the cavern. He felt, rather than saw, the hole in the wall, as the chip of stone fell away. He moved quickly over to the chink of light, as Tasha, giving up on any notion of sleep, got to her feet and followed him. A small, snub-nosed face appeared at the peephole, and looked at him intently.

"TK?"

"Patomon? How the hell did you get in there."

"We broke out of our cell. We don't know how long it is until they find out though."

"You'd better get the hell out of here, then."

"Huh?"

"Wussuh? Who are you guys talking to?" came Tai's voice.

"Tai, get over here. The Digimon have escaped."

The older man got to his feet, groaning slightly as his muscles began to ache.

"Is it me, or does history seem to be repeating?"

"No time for that now, Tai. What do you think."

Tai glanced down at the little peephole.

"TK's right. Get the hell out of here. If you can avoid being captured again, we can meet up with you when the time comes. You can report back to us when you find something useful."

Patomon nodded slightly.

"Do you guys want to speak to your Digimon before we go?"

Tai glanced around at the sleeping Digidestined. All of them, except Kari, seemed to only be sleeping lightly.

"Everyone except Kari. Taythe gave her a roughing up, and she needs to recover."

"No. That's not it." Came a new voice.

"Gatomon?"

"No, it's the friggin' Easter bunny. Of course Gatomon! And Kari's not just recovering. She's getting some reassurance."

"I don't suppose you're gonna explain that?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you."

Tai sighed.

"Somehow I knew you were gonna say that."

=============================================================

The dream had returned again, and once again, Taythe was unprepared for it. Her longsword was in her hands, as she swung blindly at the figures who surrounded here, the shadowfigures who haunted her nights, and even her days with their creepings. She felt the bladed dig deep into their huddled masses, but there were always more of them, hissing, snarling fiends that tore at her cloak and hair, trying to reach her flesh. She ducked blindly away from them , and backed off, finally coming to the resistance of a wall behind her.

And then her was there, the figure walking among the shadows, unafraid of them. His sword was sheathed this time, and he crowd of shadows drew back, warily circling him. Finally, as one, they charged him. 

The Golden-Bladed Katana whistled from its scabbard in a single movement, as Davis span, the bladed cutting through the shadows like a knife through warm butter. From the power of that single strike, the shadows vanished, to be replaced by a gleaming whiteness. The sense of Peace pervaded Taythe's mind, as Davis sheathed the sword at his waist, and turned to look at her, a look of kindness in eyes that betrayed maturity far beyond the years that were apparent on his face.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, little sister." He said quietly.

"Why you call me that? I hate you! I hate you with every ounce of my being!"

"Now, if that were true, then I couldn't be here. Why do you hate?"

"My Hatred gives me strength."

"True strength will never come from Hatred, Taythe. I should think that you know that by know."

He turned his back to her, and started to walk away. Taythe ran at him, plunging the longsword at the unprotected expanse of his back.

He slid aside from the blow, and allowed her to carry on past him, to turn and stand in front of him.

"You can't stop me leaving, you know. I'm not even here." He said in an amused tone.

"You're dead…" She whispered. "I killed you…"

"No. That wasn't my fate. It doesn't have to be yours either."

She spat on the ground at his feet at that sentiment. He sighed.

"I'm not asking you to swerve from your path, Taythe. All I'm asking you to do is think about why you walk it."

And then he was gone, leaving only the sensation of peace that she fought to keep out of her mind once more.

=============================================================

Derron continued to stare at the door long after Gennai had departed, his mind racing over what the young/old man had said.

The Paladin, still alive? A part of his had suspected it, but he had never thought that it would come back to haunt him so quickly. His mind ran over the possibilities before he came to his decision. Going into the next room, he gently shook Taythe into wakefulness, smiling slightly as the dark haired girl came back to life.

"Huh? Father? What's wrong?"

"I just had a visitation, young lady."

She gazed at him, incomprehensibly. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't you see? It was Gennai."

"What? But how did he get past the defences?"

"It seems that he had permission. He also told me something interesting."

Her dark eyes fixed on him.

"He told you that Daisuke is still alive."

He froze.

"How did you know that, Taythe?"

"I've been having… dreams."

Derron settled back against the wall that bordered with her bed.

"So… the time has finally come."

"The time for what?"

"You weren't destined to kill Daisuke on that Snowfield, Taythe. I've suspected it for a while now, but you were destined to WIN that fight. It had to happen."

"Why, father? Why couldn't I kill him then?"

"Because Daisuke is like you now. He is no longer confined by the restraints of fate. The future of both the digital world and the human world will not be decided by the higher powers, but by you two, with your swords. The one who wins will be the writer of this worlds fate."

He smiled, and laughed suddenly. Taythe, Taken aback by the sudden sound, stared at his as if he'd gone mad. When his laughter subsided, he patted her on the shoulder.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to alarm you. I've just got to admire the way that Gennai and his master have played this game. They even managed to manipulate me into the correct position. I'm laughing because I'm not the one who had to do all that work!"

Taythe thought about it, and then she to laughed.

"So all this time, we've just been letting them do all the work for us? I like it!"

Derron wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Heh… now, we need to upscale the Oridian mining, though. We need enough of it to open the gate. Only the Digidestined have enough internal energy to handle it. When we detonate that stuff…"

"The gate to the dark ocean will open, and we'll have won."

=============================================================

"So, here we are."

"Erm… yeah, why ARE you here, Ichiro?"

"What, I cant visit my prospective great-Granddaughter-in-law?"

Kari fixed him with a look, which he returned blandly. Finally, however, he folded under her gaze.

"Alright, Alright…Gods, now I know how you keep Davis under your thumb."

He sighed.

"I'm here to help you get through your doubts. There are some things you need to see, and they may not be pleasant."

"I'm not afraid."

"I know. I am."

=============================================================

The scene changed to a plateau in the digital world. across the expanse of rock, two men faced each other. Both were cloaked, and both, in their hands, held a Katana. One of the figures Kari recognised, for she stood next to his spirit at that very moment, and she could see the golden-bladed Katana that her own lover had wielded in the hand of the image in front of her.

The second man looked like Ichiro, only slightly older. On his face there was a grim smile, and held loosely in his right hand was a familiar weapon – the silver katana that Tetsato Dartha had given to TK.

"Is there no other way?" Ichiro asked his brother.

Taneka grinned wryly.

"Sorry little brother. I don't have a choice any more."

"Of course you do, Taneka!"

"No, I don't. After you left, and before I could follow, Father made me swear the blood oath. I have to obey him, no matter what I feel."

He lifted his Katana in a negligent gesture, and assumed a ready stance.

"Only one of us can walk away from this, my Brother."

"I know." Ichiro said bitterly, assuming his own stance.

The two brothers ran at each other, their blades swinging up to meet in mid air. The clash of steel in the evening light sounded like thunder in Kari's ears. The two regarded each other over their crossed blades, and smiled.

"If it has to be done, Taneka, lets do it right." Ichiro murmured.

"Aye. That we will, Ichiro."

They spun away, sweeping their cloaks away from their bodies in one swift movement, leaving them in the plain robes of a warrior. Before the cloaks had even touched the ground, Ichiro was spinning into a low cut at his brother's chest, lethally fast.

Taneka met the blow straight on, and the duel continued.

Kari tore her eyes away from the battle to look at her companion. The real Ichiro's eyes were fixed on the duel, on his brother's face. Tears showed at the corners of those eyes.

"Why are you showing me this, Ichiro?"

"Because you need to see what really happened between me and Taneka. If you are to understand Derron's weaknesses, you must first recognise where his strength comes from. This was the last time me and my brother ever met."

Kari turned her eyes back to the duel, in time to see Ichiro hastily dodge a swipe that Taneka aimed at his neck. The young man stumbled, and fell to the ground. Taneka leapt forward, his sword poised at his brother's throat.

"Get up." He snarled.

"Finish it, Taneka. You've won."

"Don't be so weak! Get up!"

Ichiro, a puzzled look on his face, got to is feet, his Katana dangling loosely in his hand. Taneka hooked the golden bald against his silver one, and pushed the blade upwards so that Ichiro was once again forced to look at his brother past the crossed swords.

Again, Taneka smiled, gently this time, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with love.

"One of us has to walk away from this, Ichiro. And it has to be you."

"Taneka…"

"Shut up and listen, little brother. When you first started sneaking out of the castle to be with Arra, I could feel that something was shifting in this world. I stood beside you at your wedding to her, remember? I walked her down the aisle to you. I spoke on your behalf. I knew then that you were going to change the world, my brother, and that I would just try to live in it."

He closed his eyes as e spoke.

"But there can't be two of us in this world, Ichiro. So long as you and I are alive, we could be used against each other. When you kill me, you cut loose the last restraint between you and Father. I just need to ask one favour of you. Tell my Wife how I died. Tell her I died to save this world."

"Taneka, no!"

"Promise me, Ichiro!"

The younger mans eyes brimmed with tears as he gripped his Katanas hilt in an iron hand.

"I promise, big brother. I love you."

Taneka smiled, and pushed with his sword, making Ichiro back off. He began to run at his brother, his sword held ready for a lethal strike.

Ichiro sidestepped the downswing of the sword, and dropped. Spinning, he swept his brothers legs out from under him, and raised his Sword. Taneka looked up at him, and only love was apparent in the other man's eyes.

"Remember me, Ichiro."

The golden blade stabbed downwards once, with a ring of finality.

=============================================================

Ichiro's eyes were downcast as the scene faded into the nothingness of the dreamscape. 

"I'm sorry." Kari said, knowing that the words would never be enough for the warrior.

"Don't be. Taneka made his choice. And that's what you have to do now, Kari. You need to decide whether you're going to fight on, or give up."

She looked up into his eyes.

"I'm going to fight, Ichiro."

He smiled.

"Did Daisuke ever tell you how I received the Paladin sword?"

"No."

"Gennai came to me in a dream, and presented it to me."

Ichiro reached behind his back, and drew two short daggers. They shone in the misty light, seeming to gleam with souls of their own.

"These are for you. When you wake up, they'll be in your hands. Hide them well, Hikari."

"I will. Ichiro…"

"Yeah?"

"How's Davis?"

"Oh, he's just fine. My wife's dealing with him. He'll be waking up any time soon."

"Thankyou."

"You're welcome."

His voice faded into nothing, as she closed her hand on the daggers, and the dreamscape faded away.

She woke up, and the sheathed daggers were in her hands. Smiling, she stood, and slipped them into place underneath her shirt at the small of her back.

"Now its your turn, Davis."

=============================================================

Michael stumbled against the entrance to the cave, his legs finally giving way underneath him. Looking up at the sky, he muttered a silent apology to the people back at Taythe's fortress, and slumped back against the rock.

He closed his eyes, and began to slip away.

The sound of footsteps brought him back to his senses, and he painfully opened his eyes again.

To look straight into the face of a Ghost. The spectre opened it's mouth, and began to speak to him.

"Jesus, me old son, but don't you look a mess?" Liam said.

=============================================================

(a/n)

And that's part two finished! I think I've set a world record here – ten chapters of pure set-up story.

It's gonna get fun from the next one folks, and I'm going back to weekly updates on my site this week, because I'm starting a new fic. Watch out for it! It isn't going to be action adventure (it'd be WAY to complicated tom write two of these at once!) but it should be fun. The Title's gonna be:

"My Summer With Davis."

Debuting this week, on the digifiction domain and Fanfiction.net!

-Ben.


	12. Chapter 11

PART THREE: THE NEW DAWN

Chapter 11:

********

"How long was I asleep?" Davis asked groggily.

Jun glanced down at her watch. Amazingly, it was still functional.

"I make it around a month. How do you feel?"

Davis blinked, and then fixed her with a level look.

"Like someone drove a sword through my chest and I've been in a coma for a month."

Jun glared at him.

"Jeez, you've only just woken up, and you're already making wisecracks."

"It gives me something to do."

Painfully, the young paladin pushed himself backwards, sliding his back up the wall so that he could sit and look at his sister with relative comfort.

"What did I miss?"

"Not much. We've had hardly any reports from the surface. You're in the underground village, by the way."

"Yeah, I'd kinda gathered that. What happened, after…?"

"After you got sliced and diced?"

He made a face. Jun grinned slightly and continued.

"After you went down, me and Nick did our damnedest to get you back into one piece again. Then the Guardians turned up, and brought us back here. We've managed to get a few of the troopers back down here. Willis turned up as well."

"Better late than never."

"I said something along those lines myself. Anyway, the Shadowmon and Taythe have gone to a fortress in the mountains…"

"The Dragon-Lord's citadel."

She looked at him.

"How…?"

"I don't know. Please carry on, Jun."

"Well, we actually had a shock a coupla days before you woke up. But I'll save that for a surprise. Basically, we've just been healing up, and waiting for you to open your eyes. I always knew you liked to sleep in, but this was ridiculous."

"Har-har. Can I get out of bed at all?"

"…Against my better judgement, I'd say yes. You heal fast, but your muscles are gonna be stiff as hell. You're gonna have to be careful for the next few days, okay?"

"Got it. Please just make sure that I don't go down again."

"Erm, you've got a souvenir, by the way."

"Huh?"

She looked pointedly at his chest, and he glanced down. He winced when he saw the long, ugly scar that stretched across his torso.

"She put her mark on me."

"Heh. That's one way of putting it."

He pushed down the covers, and gingerly swung his legs over the side of the bed. Jun stood and handed him a t-shirt.

"Thanks."

He pulled the garment on over his head, and, using the bed as support, pushed himself up onto his feet. He fought the wave of dizziness that swept over him, and ignored the shrieking pain that came from his abused muscles.

Slowly, he walked to the door, and twisted the handle.

Nick turned as her heard the sound at the other side of the room. Gently, he placed the chess piece back down on the board, as Willis also stood. The door to the bedroom swung gently open, to reveal a haggard, battered, yet grinning Daisuke Motomiya.

"Hey, everybody. It's good to be back."

a wide, stupid grin spread across Nick's face. He knew, without looking, that the same expression was on the face of the blonde man beside him.

"It's good to have you back, mate. You had enough of a nap?"

"Am I gonna have to put up with those jokes from EVERYONE?"

"Probably." Willis replied. 

He strode forward, and grabbed hold of the brown-haired man's shoulder. Nick was surprised to see that Davis, normally stubborn and independent to a fault, accepted the help with a grateful smile.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

With Willis' help, Davis made his way over to the balcony that looked over the underground village. The troopers, who had been casually cleaning their weapons, looked up in surprise as the young Paladin appeared. Then, gently, Garret began to applaud. The clapping was quickly taken up by the other troopers, and Davis began to laugh, just for the sake of it.

"Jeez, but will you look at all of you lot?" came a familiar Irish lilting voice.

Davis turned, and looked into Liam Dillon's face. For a moment, he couldn't say anything.

"Don't stare Davis, it's irritating." The Irishman said.

"Sorry."

"And don't apologise, either. We've got more important things to worry about."

He gently laid a blonde man down on the stone floor.

"Such as what to do with young Michael here."

=============================================================

Kari sat up, and glanced at her surroundings once more. She sighed, then put her hands to the base of her spine. She felt the comforting weight of the daggers there, and a small grin spread across her face.

Standing, she walked towards the entrance to their cell, and glanced out down the track for the mining carts. In every direction, she could see the smooth surface of the oridian rock that they had been mining.

She glanced down at the track, and saw that the tracks were resting on solid rock. At intervals in the wall, there were exits leading off into the various sections of the mine. She drew one of the knives, and knelt down to the track. Gently, she placed the knife against the metal surface, and snatched her hand away as she felt the vibrations of an electric current. 

She swore under her breath. They weren't gonna get out that way.

"Already thought about it, sis." Tai said quietly.

She spun. Her brother was sitting beside the entrance to the cell, his eyes barely open.

"Nice knife. Where did you get it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I probably wouldn't at that."

He stood, and put his arm around his younger sister's shoulders.

"So, what do we do?"

"Remind me how I got to be leader again?"

"We voted you in."

"Whilst I was asleep."

"We didn't want to bother you."

She glared at him, and then stopped as she heard the faint rumble of a cart on the tracks. Swiftly, she thrust then knife back into its sheath at her spine. The cart trundled its way to a stop outside the entrance to their cell, and the rifle-toting guard, backed by two Shadowmon, stepped out, and levelled his weapon at the pair.

"Both of you in the cart, now."

"Say please." Tai jibed.

The man didn't say anything further, but fired his gun blindly into the confines of the cave. Tai dived for the floor, while Kari continued to fix the guard with a level stare. The bullet ricocheted off of the stone, and neatly slammed through the forehead of one of the taciturn Shadowmon. Kari grinned.

"And that," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Is why you don't fire a rifle in a confined space."

She smiled, and walked past the guard and the single surviving Shadowmon into the cart.

=============================================================

They moved fast around that, people seeming to blur around Davis in a frenzy of activity that he couldn't participate in. His frustration mounted as the battered and bruised body of Michael was taken into the room where the Master and Jun had operated on him a month earlier.

"It feels strange, doesn't it?"

He heard the voice, and turned in surprise, only to find that no-one was around him. 

"Don't be silly, Davis. As if I could actually be there."

"Grandmother?"

He couldn't see Arra's flinch, but her felt it.

"Must you call me that?"

"It's true, isn't it?"

"In a broad sense." She sighed. "We need to talk. Go find Dayla."

"The little girl? Kari's friend?"

"Yes. Tetsato's busy, so you're going to need her help. She has her part to play in events as well."

"Figures."

Veemon, who had been sleeping as well, opened his eyes. Without speaking, he understood Davis' feelings. The Digidestined nodded, and he and his Digimon started down into the village.

=============================================================

The Digimon were hiding in the roof above one of the tunnels, watching the carts roll underneath them, carrying their loads of oridian or their teams of Digidestined. Agumon looked with distaste at the black ore. 

"What the hell is this stuff?" he asked.

"Agumon, if I knew that, I'd let you know." Gatomon replied acidly.

"Don't you two ever open your ears?" Patomon said.

"We don't have your advantages in that department, Patomon." Gabumon said slyly.

Patomon grinned, and waggled his oversized ears at his friend.

"What have you heard?" Gatomon sighed. 

"Not too much more. But I know that they're gonna use this stuff – oridian, I think they called it – to blow open the portal between the digital world.

"Blow open?" Salamandramon asked.

"That's what the word 'Detonate' seemed to imply."

"Okay. Maybe we should put a stop to that."

"What do you mean?" Gatomon said.

"Look, we're relatively free? Right? Maybe the time has come for us to fight back."

"…You know, I thought that Digimon picked up their partners mannerisms, but you take it to extremes, Sala."

"Thanks." The little lizard replied wryly.

"You're right, though. We need to slow down whatever they're doing. Let's go for it."

=============================================================

The young Paladin limped through the town, acknowledging the greetings of the inhabitants with answering grins. He stopped to exchange a few words with a shopkeeper, and then carried on his methodical search.

When he came across Dayla, she was sitting with her back to him, looking at a blank stone wall, her eyes closed. Quietly, he walked up beside her, and stared in puzzlement at the rock face.

"You have to look further than what you can see with your eyes, Daisuke." The little girl said.

"How did you notice me?"

"I can hear you thinking. Also your limp makes you walk very loudly."

Davis grimaced, and sat down next to her. Veemon plopped his small form down on the Paladin's other side.

"I need…"

"To talk to the Lady. I know."

He glared at her.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Predict what I'm going to say."

"It's what I'm trained to do. Why deny my purpose?"

"Because its irritating as hell."

"Don't swear, Daisuke, it's naughty."

He rolled his eyes. Veemon smirked slightly.

"You know, normally, he only allows Kari to talk down to him."

"Yeah, well, he needs my help, so I'm allowed to have a little fun."

She stretched out her hand, and Davis took the small palm in his own. He felt Veemon's claw slip into his other palm, and he closed his eyes.

"Hello, Davis."

"Hello, Grandmother."

Dayla took her hand out of his, and stepped away from him. Arra turned to the small girl, and bowed formally, a gesture that Dayla returned.

"Well done, little sister. You've progressed far beyond my expectations."

"Try telling that to the master."

"Oh, he knows. Just trust him."

Dayla sighed and exasperated little-girl sigh, and nodded. Arra turned back to her Grandson.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You needed to talk?"

"Hey, you called me here!"

"Only because I sensed that you needed to say something."

Davis put a hand to his eyes.

"This is WAY to complicated for me."

"Doesn't take much." Veemon muttered.

"Be nice, Veemon." Arra laughed. "The boys got a lot on his mind right now."

She looked at Davis again.

"Now, what is it you needed to talk about."

He held his gaze steady with her eyes for a moment, then looked away.

"I'm so… helpless."

"Who told you that?"

"Just look at me, Grandmother! I'm weak, I'm hurt – I can barely walk without help! I only made it down through the village through blind luck!"

"Bull. You're stronger than you think you are, and something inside you knows it, otherwise you'd have died on that snowfield."

She moved forward, and tapped on his chest with her knuckles. 

"It takes a strong soul to survive what you've been through. Do you want to know why your dream was the way it was?"

"Huh?"

"Your dream. You know, you, Kari, the happy families scenario."

"I know what dream you meant, Grandmother, I just don't know what it ahs to do with anything."

"Remember when Ichiro gave you the Paladin-sword, in the cave on Gennai's mountain?"

"Yeah."

"He asked you why you wanted that power. Do you remember what you said?"

Davis thought, and the words came back to him.

"I said…'I'm not even sure I do.'"

"And Ichiro told you that he wouldn't have given you the power unless you had wanted to use it for good – in that case, to rescue the Digidestined." She sighed. "What you had then was only a portion of the Paladin's true power. Now, the time has come for you to accept the rest of your birthright. But you must accept the gift Davis, and you must bear the responsibility for it. On your shoulders rests the fate of not only the entire digital world, but of the human world as well."

Davis felt something click, deep inside his soul, and for the tiniest second, he could feel every living entity in the digital world. He closed his eyes, and the sensation rushed over him like a wave, sending tiny shocks through his nervous system. The it ended, and the voices vanished. He opened his eyes again, and looked at his Ultimate Grandmother.

"Now, what are you fighting for, Chana-Paladin?"

"I'm fighting for those I love. I'm going to fight for my friends."

"there is nothing more I can teach you, Daisuke."

"Thankyou, Grandmother."

"You're welcome, beloved Paladin."

Davis turned to Dayla, and held out his hand. The little girl took his palm in hers.

And the world regained its focus. Davis got to his feet, feeling anew vitality flood through his veins.

"Damn, but that feels better."

He glanced at Veemon, and the Digimon's form shrank to that of DemiVeemon. The little Digimon hopped up onto his partners shoulder. 

"Dayla."

"Yes, Paladin?"

"Come with me. You're going to come with us when we go after Taythe, and I don't want you to go unprepared."

He took her hand in hers, and began to walk back through the village in easy strides. A thought occurred to him.

"I'm gonna need a sword."

Dayla gave him one of her special 'Are-you-really-as-stupid-as-you-look' glances.

"Did you think that this place was named The Forge for the fun of it, Daisuke?"

=============================================================================

(A/N)

Yes, I know I promised the start of a new fic last week, but to be brutally honest with you, I was bogged down with ICT coursework, and couldn't get much of anything done. The first chapter of "My summer with Davis" will be up this week, and that's a promise.

Well, from reading back over this chapter, it actually appears that I'm beginning to develop some kind of plot. And about-bloody-time. The actual story is going to move forward from this point, and in case you haven't noticed, this story is divided up into three parts. This ones gonna be the longest (Although since the fic is already at 89 pages and its only chapter 11, I think its gonna be PRETTY DAMN LONG.

I've finally moved my website – Tripod pissed me off one time to many – so the new site is at:

mooseofdoom.freewebpage.org

Although you can get to it through the old site link, if you so desire. The new page still needs some finishing touches to be added, but its mostly up and running, if you feel like taking a look.

Finally, I'm posting this on the 27th of June so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Yup, I've reached the big 18, so I'm celebrating by going out with my friends and celebrating the fact that I can now get drunk…legally.

JA NE!!!

-Ben.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

********

"Absolutely not." the smith said resolutely.

"Why?" Davis asked, frustration building in his voice.

"Have you ever forged anything before?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then there's no way in the seven hells that I'm going to let you use my smithy to make a sword when you don't know how."

"I know how!"

"Yeah? I wish I'd known how to be a smith with no prior experience."

"Dathyr, listen to him." Dartha said tiredly.

"Master, I can't do this! It goes against all the professional ethics I possess! He doesn't even have his own tools!"

"Yes he does."

"Where!??"

"Yeah, where?" Davis said in a puzzled voice.

"They're hanging over there."

The Smith and the Paladin looked over at the wall. There hung a set of tools, which Davis somehow knew were tools designed with the specific purpose of forging a sword. The Smith scowled.

"Oh no, those tools were made with one destiny, Master. They can only even be picked up by the pa…"

He stopped mid sentence, and turned slowly back to look at Davis.

"I know." Liam said. "It's a terrible disappointment, isn't it?"

Davis walked slowly over to the wall, and placed his hand on the handle of the hammer. Gently, he picked it up, and hefted it. Dartha grinned at the smith, who rolled his eyes.

"Alright, he can make the sword here. But only under my supervision, alright?"

"That's fine." Davis said, his eyes still fixed on the hammer.

"Are you sure you can do it?"

"Dathyr, relax." Dartha said. "Daisuke could have forged a Katana when he was still in his cradle."

Dathyr glared at him, and stalked off to the back of the shop, muttering to himself about prophecies and interfering upworlders.

=============================================================

"What do you want this time, Taythe?"

"Some respect from you, for a start."

"When you've earned it, I'll give it. Why did you call me here?"

Taythe sighed theatrically, and leant on her hands to look up at Kari.

"Your Digimon have escaped from their holding cell."

"I know. And?"

"I want you to find them and bring them back."

Kari looked at the raven haired girl as if she'd taken a sudden leave of her senses.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You want me, as in, your enemy, to help you track down the Digimon, my allies, so you can do whatever you want to them?" she shook her head. "You shouldn't have bothered. I was having a good nights sleep."

Taythe glared at her.

"Oh, don't do that. You made a mistake, it happens."

Taythe shook her head.

"There was another reason I called you here."

"Which was…?"

"I've been having… dreams."

"How pleasant for you."

"Shut up and listen, Hikari. I don't want to explain this twice."

Kari, intrigued by the tone of Taythe's voice, bit back any further comments, and sat down across the fire from the black-haired girl.

"I've been dreaming about Daisuke."

Kari leaned forward.

"Tell me."

"I'm fighting against shadows, but they overwhelm me. Then he's there, driving them away." she closed her eyes. "He fights them off, and then offers me his hand."

"And what do you do?"

"I told him to leave. I told him to leave me alone, because I must fight him."

"Why do you have to fight him?"

"Because that's my destiny. Its what I was born to do. I was born with the sole purpose of being the Paladin's opposite."

Kari, despite herself, felt a grain of sympathy well up in her for the girl across from her.

"What a sad way to live."

Taythe's eyes snapped up.

"What do you mean, Hikari?"

"Your whole life has been based around fighting and hatred. All you've ever had is the destiny you were told to have."

She looked into Taythe's eyes.

"I may be a slave right now, but you're more imprisoned than I will ever be, Taythe."

The raven-haired girls eyes narrowed.

"Get out." She whispered.

"Fine." Kari said, standing. "What else did Davis say to you?"

"He said that he wasn't going to stop me walking my path, but to think about why I was."

"That sounds like Davis. He may not be big on thinking himself, but he doesn't hesitate to encourage it in others."

She turned, and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

=============================================================

Davis flinched at the heat of the furnace, and pulled back from the deep red flames.

"You're not gonna get anywhere doing that, Paladin." Dathyr said. The Smiths intolerance, Davis sensed, was not anything personal, but was just the way he treated everyone.

"What do you want me to do?"

"For a start, you can come round here and pump these bellows. You may be making this sword, but this is still my shop, so my rules. Any man making things has to pump up his own fire."

Davis nodded, more to himself than to the smith, and walked around the side of the furnace. He grabbed hold of the bellows, and began to squeeze them together. 

"Not too fast," Dathyr warned. "You don't want to blow out he flames, you want to feed them."

"Got it."

"Alright. I'm gonna go find you some steel."

"Huh?" Davis said. "But my sword was Golden coloured."

"Maybe so, but this sword is gonna be different. I don't know all of the facts, but something important is going to hinge on this blade, and it has to be made of steel. I've got some Ingots out the back."

Davis nodded, and concentrated on building the fire. Dathyr nodded at Liam.

"You can help me. Those things are heavy, and I'm not as young as I used to be."

"Alright then."

The Smith then glanced at Nick.

"When miracle-boy here starts to get tired, take over from him."

"Yeah." The Londoner replied.

Liam and Dathyr headed out of the back door to the smithy, and Veemon strolled in through the front.

"The master told me you'd be here."

"I thought he might. I wonder if the reason he made himself so scarce has anything to do with the amount of physical effort going on down here."

"Why Davis, what a spiteful thing to suggest." The Digimon laughed.

=============================================================

Taythe looked at the Shadowmon surrounding her, and calmly drew her longsword from it's scabbard at her belt.

The first of the creatures rushed her, its scimitar upraised, and slashing down in a brutal strike.

She slid the blow aside along the length of her blade, and back cut as the creature went past, neatly severing its sword arm from its body. The Shadowmon grunted in pain, and swung back at her, even as she stabbed backwards under her own arm, neatly impaling the creature.

"I wonder," the hissing Shadowmon commander said to Derron, "Why we are doing this?"

it watched as another of its troopers was neatly decapitated by the long blade.

"It's very simple, so even you should grasp it." Derron replied, "Taythe needs to keep up her sword skills in preparation for her battle, and it never hurts to have a few more troops around. When she attacks the Shadowmon, they respawn, so we don't really lose anything."

"What you say makes sense." The Commander replied. "Although you do not have to be so insulting."

"How else would I get your attention?"

The human looked up as one of the guards from the lower levels approached him.

"Sir, we haven't found any sign of the escaped Digimon" 

"I didn't expect you would, sergeant. Keep looking anyway, they're bound to make their presence felt sooner or later."

"Yes, sir. Also, sir, Mistress Wentela says to tell you that you're being too lenient with the rest periods. She wants to shorten them."

Derron rolled his eyes.

"She never learns. Tell her that we've achieved the amount of Oridian that we need. There isn't any need to make the Digidestined mine any more. They are to be confined to their cells until I say otherwise. I'm not going to risk messing around with their mines just so she can satisfy her little vices, is that clear?"

"Perfectly, sir."  

The sergeant turned and headed back to the elevator. The Shadowmon Commander spoke again as he watched the man leave.

"I also wonder why you persist in keeping Wentela around. She has served her purpose."

"I keep her around because she amuses me. She thinks that I don't know about the Digidestined she killed a week ago, and it entertains me to listen to her attempts at subterfuge." He glanced up at the monster. "you, of course, are not burden by feelings, are you my taciturn friend?"

"They are not needed. They get in the way of the kill."

"You'd be surprised how effective they are when it comes to combat." Derron pushed himself away from the wall. "Keep Taythe entertained. I've got things to attend to."

"Yes, Master Derron."

=============================================================

Taythe slammed the black blade of her longsword against the Shadowmon's skull, and felt the satisfying crunch as she whipped away. A second creature ran at her, slashing its curved blade in a low cut. 

She leapt over the blade, flipping through the air above the creature, seeming to hang there for a moment. In her minds eye, the form of the Shadowmon morphed away and changed into the now familiar figure, goggles balanced atop his head, the golden katana in his hand. Rage welled up within her, and she dove through the air, driving the point of her blade down through her enemy's head, and clean through his body.

Reality faded back in, and she stepped away from the Shadowmon, drawing the blade out of its body with a steely hiss. The rest of the creatures backed away as she turned and headed for the exit to the room.

=============================================================

Davis sat, looking at the furnace, waiting for the steel ingots to finish the slow, ponderous process of melting down into the malleable form he needed to make his sword. He didn't even look up as Dartha strolled into the room.

"Afternoon, folks."

"Good afternoon yourself, Master. You here to help?"

"I wouldn't want to spoil your fun, Daisuke."

The ancient-youthful man looked at the Paladin curiously.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for the steel to get hot enough to mould."

"You need it hot, eh?"

the master started to make a gesture at the furnace.

"Don't." Dathyr snapped from the door.

"Dathyr, its going to take forever if you do it this way."

"My shop, my rules master. I want to do this properly."

"it will be proper – just faster."

"No, Tetsato."

The Master sighed.

"Alright, then."

Davis glanced up at him.

"You seem buoyant today."

"I am indeed Daisuke. Michael's just woken up."

"Excellent!"

Dathyr glared at him.

"Are you going to let those ingots boil all day, Daisuke?"

"No, Dathyr."

"Well, get them out of the furnace, and lets get to work."

"Yes, Dathyr."

"Take off your shirt."

"What?"

"It's going to be boiling in here, boy. Take off your shirt, put on an apron and gloves, and we'll get started."

=============================================================

"How are you feeling?" Jun said, more out of habit than of lack of knowledge.

"Like someone shot me." Michael replied. 

Jun grinned.

"I suppose I deserved that."  
  


"I need to talk to Davis."

"He's busy right now, Michael. Can you tell me instead?"

"I suppose. You'll hear it anyway. I suppose you know where the Digidestined are being held?"

"The fortress of the Dragon Lords? Yeah."

"Did you know about the mines underneath the fortress?" 

"Not that I'd heard of. What mines?"

"They're making the captured Digidestined dig up something called Oridian. I don't know what it is, but the guard seem afraid to touch it."

"That's because its poisonous to anyone except the Digidestined." Came a tired voice from the corner. Jun spun, and looked at Gennai's youthful features.

"God, I'm tired." The guardian of the digital world said. "I haven't slept in days."

"You can't do that to yourself, Gennai." Jun remonstrated.

"Havent had much of a choice. I've had a lot to set up."

"Fine. But we're going to have a talk about this." Gennai winced. "What are they mining this Oridian stuff for?"

"They want to open the gate to the dark ocean." the guardian replied. "IF they do that, then they'll have rejoined the links that once existed between the two."

"I doubt that's good."

"Quick thinking. It would be disastrous."

=============================================================

The hammer slammed down onto the surface of the steel, striking sparks off of it, scattering them onto the ground.

"He know what he's doing, I'll say that for him." Dathyr said.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Dartha replied.

"Yes, but that's just my personal prejudices. It's a pity he's predisposed. I'd give some thought to taking him as an apprentice."

Dartha laughed.

"I doubt he'd consider a career change, my friend."

"I think he's got other things on his mind right now." Veemon joked.

"Don't let the metal cool too much, Daisuke!" Dathyr snapped.

Davis nodded, his eyes never leaving his work. The hammer crashed down again, as he began forging the slight curve that makes a katana such a deadly cutting weapon. Sparks shook away from the steel as he slammed it against the anvil.

"Heat it up again." Dathyr advised.

He raised the blade with his tongs, and put it back onto the rack inside the furnace. Dathyr glanced at the steel.

"Five minutes. How does it feel?"

"Very satisfying."

"Anything that you can feel accomplished about is satisfying for you, Davis." Veemon said.

Dathyr sighed. 

"What a smith youd've made."

"I don't think so. After this sword is made, I doubt I'll be using these tools again."

"Well, I'll look after them for you anyway." The smith laughed. 

The work continued for several more hours, and the intensity of Davis's activity startled even the seasoned veteran smith. Finally, Davis lifted the blade in the tongs for the last time, and plunged it into the barrel of water next to him. The cloud of steam was reasonably impressive.

"Now the hilt piece." Dathyr instructed. 

Davis nodded, and carefully hammered out a flat disk of metal, wider than the handle of his blade. Dartha stood, and reached inside his shirt.

"Here. I made it myself. About two-hundred years ago, actually."

Davis took the Katana handle, and looked at it. Deeply embossed into the side was the symbol of courage, and on it's opposite, the symbol of friendship. He turned the handle over, and glanced at the base, where the symbol of miracles was neatly set in the circle of the handle. 

"Thankyou, Master."

"You're very welcome, Daisuke."

The young paladin turned, and reached inside the barrel of water. The sword blade was cool by now, and he lifted it gently from the water, as if it were a child. He laid it flat across his hands, and turned to Dathyr. The smith inspected it gravely.

"It's good. You'll need to sharpen it, obviously, but it's a good blade."

"Thankyou, Dathyr."

"Any fool can give advice, Daisuke."

"I wasn't thanking you for that."

He laid the blade on the anvil, and slid the handle onto the flat metal section at the blades base. He felt the satisfying click as the handle slotted into place, and lifted the blade. He took the metal disk, and slid it down over the length of the steel, where it clicked into place against the hilt.

The Paladin lifted his sword, and the grey steel glinted in the light of the forge.

=============================================================================

(A/N)

Another chapter, yo! And yes, in case you haven't noticed, they ARE getting longer. As an interesting fact, I've just passed the amount I wrote for "The Shadow War." Still got to beat "Now, Forever and Always", though. 

Thankyou to everyone who wished me a happy birthday last week. It's very appreciated.

Okay, onto business:

If any of you did look for the first chapter of "My summer with Davis" last week, I'm afraid you're not going to receive. Its not often that I give up on a fic, especially this early in its writing, but I read what I'd done of MSWD, and realised that it just wasn't going to work. Football makes for great scenes, but REALLY crappy fics. So that ones been discontinued. There is another reason: I need the time to make my first attempt at writing fiction professionally – well, freelance. I'm going to write a short story that I'm gonna try and get published, so that's gonna take a while.

Yes, it's a scary thought, I know.

Well, that pretty much covers anything. Thanks for all the support.

-Ben.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

********

"She's REALLY starting to get annoyed now."

"And I bet you're doing everything you can to aggravate her, aren't you?" TK said.

"Naturally." 

The blonde haired man sighed. Kari glared at him.

"What?"

"Has it occurred to you, that maybe provoking her isn't the best way?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tasha said. "I'm all for pissing her off a little."

"A little?"

"C'mon, she's been treating us like shit since we got here. Lets get all the payback we can."

"My sentiments exactly." Kari replied smugly.

TK glared at her.

"How am I supposed to make a decent argument when even my own girlfriend gangs up against me."

"You're not." Kari and Tasha replied in unison.

TK threw his hands up in the air.

"I give up!"

"I thought you might." Tasha said smugly.

=============================================================

They stood opposite each other in the translucent light of the cave, the glimmering reflections of the crystal sediment contained in the wall glinting over their features. Davis flinched as a particularly bright flash flickered over his eye, and in that instant, Dartha moved.

The broadsword the old warrior held flashed up, flickering towards Davis's neck. The Paladin fell backwards, slamming to the floor. His Katana cut desperately upwards to parry the blow that the master aimed at his neck. 

A blow that was remarkably conspicuous in its absence.

Davis got to his feet, and glanced around. The Master was leaning against the shining wall, a couple of feet away. His battered broadsword – a gift from Liam – was held loosely in his hand, and he tapped his boot against the wall.

"You know, you really should pay more attention to what's going on around you."

"Maybe… but now you've given me the advantage."

"Have I?"

"Oh yeah…" 

Davis leapt at her, his katana flashing towards his friend's throat. The lunge was brutal, direct, and completely ineffective. At the last second, the Master's head seemed to slip aside, and the curved blade of the katana went straight past him, to clash against the wall. Davis winced as the new blade clanged angrily on the rock. Then he doubled over as Tetsato Dartha slammed the flat of his broadsword into his belly. He slumped to the floor.

"…ow…"

=============================================================

The village was only small, but Danny Mills, Sergeant, 22 SAS, knew that it contained what he was looking for. It had to be this one – there weren't any other places suitable for human habitation around anymore. Mind you, anywhere that the Shadowmon had been became unsuitable for human habitation pretty damn fast.

He pulled his rifle up, and glanced round at the seven remaining men of the twenty-five he had bought to the digital world. at thirty, Danny was the oldest of the batch, but he knew that these soldiers were well trained, and they were ready to do whatever it took to get the job done – as the SAS motto states 'who dares, wins.'

The small SAS squad had been searching for the remaining Digidestined, and the Paladin, for the better part of a month now. They had only been assigned to the digital world to help out in one battle, but that battle appeared to be dragging out into a  full on war. Mills sighed.

"Erm, sarge?" a young commando asked him.

"Not now, cooper."

"Really, Sarge, you might want to look at this."

"Yeah, you might want to look at this, Mills." Came another voice. A voice with a Belfast accent.

Danny knew that voice.

He twisted slowly in his position on the ground, and looked up at the smiling face of Liam Dillon.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he burst out, before he could stop himself.

"I'm here to stop you wasting time and ammo, me ould son." The Irishman said.

Mills glared at him.

"Do you have to do the cod-Irish act, Dillon, it doesn't wash, you know."

"Alright, alright. Anyways, as I was saying, you don't really have any need to attack that village. The Digidestined aren't there." The big Irishman grinned. "However…"

"You want to attack anyway?"

"I don't care what you want, you're not under my jurisdiction. If you want to come along, fine. If not, then stay the hell out of my way."

"Nice, isn't he?" Nick muttered to his fellow Londoner. Mills rolled his eyes.

"Join the army, they said, see the world, they said…"

The seven digital world troopers, now joined by the seven SAS men, trooped down the hill, their rifles swung low and ready.

Gatomon reached out with her razor sharp claws, and neatly sheared away the last section of the track, glancing around to make sure that Agumon was still on sentry duty and not goofing off.

She'd found that she was doing that a lot lately.

Despite the fact that she's started out being an enemy of the Digidestined, that cat-Digimon had found that, like her partner, she had become the leader of the small group. Kari was leading the captured Digidestined, so Gatomon was leading their Digimon.

And so they'd begun their rebellious war against Taythe, but more directly, against Wentela. The Digimon has spent an awfully large amount of time in the small fissures of rock that criss-crossed the oridian ore in the mines, spying out guard patrol routes, locations of the other Digidestined, and general intelligence.

What they hadn't been prepared for, however, was the level of degradation that Wentela was prepared to make her prisoners go through. Already that week, Gatomon has seen the big woman beat a small child into near unconsciousness, seemingly for the mere pleasure of it. The Cat-Digimon knew that she couldn't reveal the Digimon's position in the mines, but she had to admit that she felt a strong urge to rip the big woman's throat out whenever she saw her.

"Gatomon!" Salamandramon whispered. "Quick gathering moonbeams and get back into the tunnel! The carts coming!"

Gatomon came back to her senses, and withdrew next to her friend in the fissure in the rock. The cart that was trundling along at the moment was a standard guard patrol route. The Digimon, however just made their first Guerrilla move. 

They'd cute away most of the track. Not all the way through but far enough so that it wouldn't be able to maintain the weight of the cart, especially with its cargo of troopers.

Wormmon, his luminescent eyes suited for the dark, watched the gap intently. The tracks were directly over a gorge that led down into the central gathering area of the mining complex. No one was there at the moment, so there wasn't any risk of harming the Digidestined.

"Three, two, one…" 

There was an ear-wrenching crash, as the tracks split neatly down their centre. That cart toppled of its rails, and fell through the air, the screams of the guards echoing behind it. Agumon turned to his companions.

"Well, that was fun. Where next?"

=============================================================

"I wonder how Ken and the others are doing?" Kari mused out loud.

Despite her earlier buoyant spirits, Kari was worried. They hadn't heard from the other Digidestined since the mining operations had finished, and that in itself was bad, but the rumours circulating among the guards were even worse. Rumours of violence by Wentela, and rumours of deaths among the chosen children.

"I'm sure he's okay, Kari." TK said encouragingly.

"Yeah." Matt said. "If anything had happened to them, then the Digimon would have told us, right?"

"I guess…"

"Good, then there's no problem."

The conversation ceased as they heard the rumbling of a cart on the tracks outside. Wentela stepped into their chamber, and her face was like a thunderstorm.

"Where are they?" the big woman demanded.

"Where are who?" Sora replied innocently.

"Those scummy little rodents. Where the fuck are they?"

"My, such naughty language." Kari commented.

Wentela didn't give a second warning. Straightaway, she moved for her favourite victim, and before the other could stop here, hauled Mimi to her feet.

"You tell me where they are, or I'll beat this bitch silly."

Mimi's eyes came slowly up, leaving the glazed state they had been in for days. She reared back, and spat full in the big woman's face. A look of pure hatred passed over Wentela's features.

"You… whore…"

"Yeah, well, you're a fucking murderer, so don't try and accuse me of things like that." Mimi snapped right back.

Wentela, who as Kari had gathered, was not the most verbal of people, backhanded Mimi across the face.

Kari's hand went to the dagger at the back of her grubby jeans. She almost drew the weapon, when Tai grabbed hold of her arm. She looked round at him, but he shook his head. Kari took a deep breath, and looked back at their oversized captor.

"We don't know where the Digimon are."

Wentela raised her hand to hit Mimi again.

"I SAID WE DON'T KNOW!!" Kari yelled.

"See, that wasn't so difficult, was it?"

she slapped Mimi a second time, the sound of the blow resounding in the room. Matt dived forward, and caught his friend around her shoulders. Kari, meanwhile, stepped forward until she was eye-to-eye with their captor.

"You hit her again, and you're a dead woman, you here me?" she hissed

"Anytime, bitch." Wentela laughed in her face. Spinning, the big woman boarded her cart once more, and set off down the tunnel, leaving Kari trembling with rage. Tai came up behind her.

"Don't do that, Kari. You almost gave me a heart attack."

Kari didn't turn to him.

"You shouldn't have stopped me. I can take her."

"I'm sure you can, but then what would be the difference between you and her."

Kari's face was still turned away from him, but the shaking in her shoulders gradually changed from an enraged shudder to the gentle pulse of quite sibs as the weeks of pent up emotion finally spilt over. Kari fell to her knees, her head slumped forward.

"I can't do this, Tai. I can't lead you all…"

"Sure you can…"

"No, I cant! I'm useless! I can't even defend us!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Kari."

The brown-haired girl twisted, as Mimi snapped at her.

"Huh?" 

"I said, give it a rest. The waterworks aren't impressing anyone, least of all Wentela and Taythe."

Mimi stood, swaying slightly as the knocks she had received caught up with her.

"Who do you think is giving us the inspiration to fight back, huh? If he were here, it'd be Davis. But he isn't here, so we're all looking to you. You've been so strong so far, Kari. I couldn't have stood up to Wentela just now unless you'd been fighting back against Taythe all this time! I may not be a Paladin, but I'm damned if I'm gonna let them drive me down. And I get that from you, Kari!"

the pink-haired girl stopped, for once, actually seeming to be embarrassed about talking. Kari looked up at her.

"Arigato… Mimi-chan."

"No charge."

=============================================================

The bullets chewed into the side of the wall as Liam Dillon crouched down beside Nick Pallet and Danny Mills.

"How many did you see?" the big Irishman asked. His casual manner had vanished, to be replaced by an air of cool professionalism. Liam was a man in his element.

"Two riflemen in the belltower. Another two, using SMGs (sub-machineguns) are shooting out of that door across the way." Nick replied.

He flinched as a bullet chipped away a stone very close to his head. Then he casually leaned around, and fired a short burst.

"Make that one with an SMG."

"What about you, Danny?" Liam asked the SAS man.

"Three riflemen shooting from various upper-level windows along the street." Mills said casually.

"Only three?"

"They started off with ten."

"oh. Good."

Liam stood, and glanced around the edge of the building. Just as he'd hoped, the doors to the countryside style church (he had to talk to whoever designed this place. This was getting to clichéd for his liking) opened, and the Shadowmon ran out into the street, howling insanely. There were at least twenty of the creatures. Liam sprayed a burst from his rifle at the tower, and the shooting tailed off. At a signal from the big Irishman, the troopers drew their swords, hefted their shields, and advanced. 

Liam, Nick and Danny swiftly took their places in the line, their shields locking into contact with those of the men next to them.

"You sure this'll work?" Danny said.

"Trust me." 

The SAS sergeant sighed. "I HATE it when people say that to me."

The battle took a definite turn for the worst for Taythe's forces at that point. Liam's shield-wall may have looked like a pathetically small target to the charging Shadowmon, but the men in it were professional soldiers, and their skills had been honed by a brutal winters fighting. The battle took an even worse turn with a surprise appearance from a group of old friends at the north end of the village.

Liam looked up suddenly from the grim work of butchering the Shadowmon in front of him as he heard a loud voice cursing in German.

Sergeant Morgan Haeder of the GSG-9, the German special forces, was running easily at the head of his own troops, sweeping past the shield wall in a smooth skirmish attack, their rifle bullets decimating the remaining creatures. Haeder turned to look at the shield wall, which warily broke apart as his men finished off the Shadowmon.

"It looked like you could use a hand." he shrugged.

"Thanks." Liam replied Dryly. "How many of you are there left?"

Haeder's face went grim.

"Five of us, out of twenty-five. I've lost a lot of good men."

"I'm sorry."

"They did their best. How can we help?"

Liam looked at the surrounding buildings.

"Some of Taythe's troopers are holed up in this town. We need to root them out, and send them back to her."

"You don't want them killed?"

Liam grinned wolfishly.

"It's a political move."

"Ah. Politics." Haeder nodded knowingly. Mills laughed at the gesture.

Ten minutes later, a man was thrown into the dust at Liam's feet by two smiling DWDF (Digital World Defence Force) soldiers. The big Irishman booted the man in the chest, and looked down at him.

"I want you too take a message back to Taythe."

"What?"

"Tell her the Paladin's back in town. You got that? Daisuke Motomiya is back, and he's ready for her."

"And what do I get?"

"You get to live. Don't push me, or you might just lose that privilege. There are others who can move as fast as you, I've no doubt."

The guard got to his feet, gave Liam once fearful look, and ran for the edge of the town. A few of the soldiers decided to give him a helping hand. Or boot, as the case may be.

Nick, Liam, Mills and Haeder watched him go.

"I presume you've got a secure command centre?" Mills asked.

"As secure as they come."

"Then it might be an idea to get out of the place with all the bullet ridden corpses and potentially anger-inducing bloodstains."

"You could be right."

=============================================================

The katana skidded off the surface of the rock once more as Davis, his frustration mounting, attempted to attack Tetsato Dartha. 

It was becoming an increasingly futile exercise.

Every time Davis lunged or slashed or cut, the Master found some way to slip out of the range of the blade, a divert his form past it, or jerk back a matter of centimetres. So far, the Katanas blade hadn't even touched him. 

After that first attack of slamming the flat of his sword into Davis's stomach, Dartha had made no move to attack himself. All he had done was avoid. He hadn't even raised his own blade to parry. That fact that he hadn't needed to was beside the point. Davis found it mildly insulting.

"Enjoying yourself, Daisuke?" Dartha asked from behind him.

"Not particularly." Davis snapped at him.

"And why not? We're in a beautiful surrounding…" he dodged Davis's attack once more. "It's a nice day…" his head twitched to the side as Davis's lunge passed within a hairs-breadth of his right ear. "And we're having an entertaining little practice bout." He spun, and in what was only his third attack, planted a kick into the centre of Davis's chest. "What's not to enjoy?"

"How are you DOING THAT???" Davis asked exasperatedly.

"Doing what?"

"I haven't even been able to touch you!"

"Maybe you're out of practice."

"No, I'm not. What are you DOING?"

Dartha sighed.

"You're fighting the wrong way. You're moving as if you expect your attacks to be countered, and that's why you can't recover when I don't even stop them." He grinned. "Your attacks are going further than you anticipate, so you're of balance when I'm ready to counter."

Dartha raised his own sword.

"Try and stop me."

The short lunges were easily parried by the Katanas blade, but what surprised Davis was the speed at which they came. Finally, one of them slipped inside his guard, opening a light cut in the material of his shirt. Davis felt determination well up inside him.

He watched the next lunge carefully. Dartha was working in a definite pattern, and he stepped aside as the Master jabbed the blade towards him. The next lunge was aimed at his eyes, and he moved his head quickly to the left, the allowing the balde to move past him.

Time seemed to slow. He saw easily how he could have countered the jabbing attacks, but instead he allowed their momentum to carry the Master past him. Finally, Dartha swung a huge overhand blow.

Davis saw it coming, and spun to his right. His Katana came up, and slashed down, as the Master, in the same position that Davis had been so many times that day, slammed his sword into the wall. 

The Katanas cut would have been lethal, had it connected. Instead, Davis stopped the attack a breath away from his friend's neck.

"Having fun yet?" he needled.

=============================================================================

(A/n)

Don't get used to it, I'm not planning on making ALL my chapters this long. ^_^

I looked through my A/Ns the other day, and noticed that I still haven't let anyone KNOW the answer to the question about Davis's daughter's names. Both are in Japanese and mean the following:

Gekkou = Moonlight

Hinode = Sunrise

R+R

-Ben


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

*********

The explosion ripped through the lower half of the building like a tornado, scattering troopers and Shadowmon alike in its wake.

Daisuke Motomiya, watching from outside, dropped the remote detonator switch to the ground, and turned to Liam.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What did you think?" 

"It's a very nice explosion. Hot, forceful, goes bang, all the things a good explosion needs."

Davis glared at his friend.

"A little encouragement wouldn't go amiss now and then, you know."

"Hey, setting explosives is the easy part…" the big Irishman glanced over the paladin's shoulder. "…They, on the other hand, look kinda pissed."

Davis turned, and saw the Shadowmon running out of the burning building in desert-city, and placed his hand on the hilt of the katana that hung under his long black coat at his side. He was dressed entirely in black, even down to his boots. The only flash of colour was the pair of goggles on his head. He glanced back at Liam, but the Irishman was still lounging on the ground. Jun's shotgun was held casually in his hand. The creatures were a hundred yards away. Twenty of them at least.

"Are you gonna help?"

"I thought you could handle it."

"Liam…"

"They're almost here, y'know."

Davis spun, the katana coming from its scabbard.

"Oh, fu…"

=============================================================

"There wasn't anything else I could do." Michael said weakly.

"I think you did pretty well, all things considering." Dartha replied.

The blonde man in the bed laughed weakly. Jun was sat beside him, a concerned look on her face. So far, she hadn't allowed these little sessions to last very long. It was a bit difficult to have protracted conversations with someone who was recovering, however quickly, from a punctured lung.

"Anyways, Where was I?"

"You were talking to us about this 'Wentela' woman." Nick replied.

"Aren't you supposed to be out fighting?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in prison?"

"Good point. Anyway, Wentela, if you could refer to her as a woman, is a sadistic, overbearing loudmouthed domineering bitch of an overseer that Taythe has got working in the mines."

"You've got a way with words."

"Every ones the gospel truth. The reason I got out is that that bitch shot me."

"Why DID she do that?"

"She was gonna shoot Mimi. I didn't really like that idea, so I kinda got in the way."

Nick looked at the young man. There was more there, he knew. He chose not to pry.

"What did you find out about Taythe before you had to leave?"

"She's not as bad as she looks, that one. I get the feeling that she's being manipulated by someone higher up."

"She is."

The four people in the room jumped as the voice came from the corner. For Michael, this was an immensely painful experience. Gennai stepped forward.

"Erm… sorry. Force of habit."

"No problem." Jun said. There was a distinctly dangerous edge to her voice. "Next time, why don't you just shoot Michael again, that way you wont have to worry about him tearing open his wounds."

"I said I was sorry!" 

"That doesn't really help much. Next time. Think before you act."

"Ooh, you got told." Dartha said.

"Shut up Tetsato." Gennai tried, and failed, to look superior. "Anyway, as I was saying, Taythe is being manipulated. The man standing behind her is called Derron Motomiya, and he is going to use…"

"I'm sorry," Jun said, "That went by me a little fast. Did you say Derron Motomiya?"

Gennai swore beneath his breath. He'd hoped to delay this a little longer.

"Yes. He's the Descendant of Ichiro Motomiya's older brother."

Gennai looked away from her.

"Taythe is your Kin, Jun Motomiya. She is a Motomiya as well."

"So we're caught up in another family tiff, are we?" Nick said to Dartha.

"I've been involved in those for Centuries." 

"Does Davis know?" Jun asked quietly.

"No. I thought it best to wait until he was… ready to face her."

"You're putting a lot on his shoulders, Gennai." Michael said.

"I know, and I don't like it any more than you, but it's out of my hands now."

"And whose hands is it in?"

"Why, Davis' of course."

"So, you're saying that Davis must decide the fate of the world."

"Yes."

"Oh great. This is the guy who usually can't even decide what to have for breakfast. You're gonna get him killed, Gennai!"

"That hasn't been decided, Jun. Davis is Chana-Paladin – the warrior without fate. He makes his own path."

Gennai sighed.

"At this moment, all the fates of all the creatures in the digital world are headed towards one single moment. One single decision. Davis is the champion of our side, and Taythe is the champion of the other. When their paths collide, its going to result in the choice that will decide the future of the entire digital world. If Davis wins… well, I don't know."

"And if Taythe wins?"

"Then all of the Digital world will be cast into darkness, and the human world will be soon to follow."

=============================================================

He spun, his black cloak swirling behind him, and the steel-grey Katana slicing past him. Despite the horror of war, there can be beauty in a fight. There can be a kind of poetry in the movements of a warrior in good condition.

Davis was poetry in motion.

The blade cut into a Shadowmon neck, neatly severing the head from the body. He spun to face the next.

Liam, sitting nearby, watched him with amusement. Without even looking, he rested his shotgun on his shoulder and pulled the trigger. The Shadowmon that had been sneaking up behind him fell to the ground as a large hole appeared in his torso. Liam rolled his eyes. Moronic creatures never learned. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out the two shiny new Beretta M92F automatics. He looked up again as Davis stepped away from the Shadowmon. There were still about ten of them left. The boy was slowing down.

He held the Berettas in his left hand, and fired his shotgun into the air. The Shadowmon all turned to look at him, their weapons raised.

But the twin automatics were already flying through the air, past the shoulders of the creatures, to the paladin standing beyond them. 

Davis sheathed his sword in one smooth motion, reached up, and plucked the guns out of the air like two apples off a tree. His thumbs flicked up, and clicked off the safeties on the weapons. He leapt into the air. Spinning over, he pulled the triggers on the automatics, firing round after round into the hateful creatures. Liam grinned, as he seemed to hang there, twisting over and over, his guns firing. 

The Paladin's feet touched the ground as the last of the Shadowmon slumped over the bullet wounds in its torso.

"Now, that's a bit better." The big Irishman said.

"One thing left to do." Davis replied. 

He stepped forward, and pulled one of the Shadowmon to its knees by its straggly hair. Liam blinked at the amount of Sheer strength pulsing through his friend. Adrenaline did funny things to people. When Davis spoke, it was in a hissing voice that Liam recognised as the language of the Shadowmon. The big creature looked up at Davis, bewilderment in its eyes. Finally, Davis kicked it away, and it stumbled to its feet. As it ran away, it paused and looked back once. Davis responded by half-drawing his Katana again. The Shadowmon started running again. Very quickly.

"That one seems to have a remarkable sense of the appropriate. What did you say to it?" Liam asked.

"I told it to go back and tell Taythe what it saw here today."

"Or?"

"Or it could go back and try telling her with its lungs wrapped around its neck."

"Nice. But there's one last job."

"What?"

Liam glanced at the scattered bodies.

"Clear this mess up, would ya?"

=============================================================

Jun looked up as Davis and Liam tramped into the cave. Liam looked exactly as he had this morning, Davis, however…

"What happened to you?"

The young Paladin wiped a fleck of Shadowmon blood away from his forehead, and glared at Liam's back.

"I don't… wanna talk about it."

=============================================================

Tai punched the wall in frustration.

"How the hell are we supposed to get a message to them, when we don't even see them at mealtimes anymore? You've got to talk to that damn cat of yours about her strategic planning, Kari."

"hey, as I recall, your Digimon busted out to, y'know." His sister replied calmly.

Kari was sat cross-legged on the floor of a cavern, a clear space around her, trying to focus her mind enough to try and contact Gatomon. Since she had been REALLY bored the past couple of days, She had come up with a theory that if the Digimon-partner link was deep enough to be affected by the owners physical health, then she their minds should be linked as well. God knows, she'd been able to communicate her feelings and thoughts to Gatomon when they were talking without having to say all that much. 

"It pisses me off, Kari! We don't know if Ken is alright, if they made it out of coast town, nothing!"

"Tai, I love you dearly, but SHUT THE HELL UP!" Kari snapped.

Tai gaped at her. 

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not sitting in the middle of the floor for nothing, okay? I'm trying to rectify the situation. So sit down, shut up, and let me concentrate."

Tai sat down and shut up.

"Good, isn't she?" Matt whispered to Mimi.

"Very."

Matt had been doing a bit of theorising on his own. Ever since he'd become a Digidestined, he'd taken on the role of the outsider, the quiet one. Almost subconsciously, he'd slipped back into that role. He'd been spending a lot of time watching Kari. Mimi, he wasn't so worried about. She was stronger than she looked, and she'd proved that, but Tai, almost unwittingly, was piling the pressure onto Kari's shoulders. Tai turned, and caught his friend's eye. Matt nodded at him, and Tai walked over, quietly.

"Ease off, Tai."

"huh?"

"Kari isn't Davis. She's a helluva a lot smarter for a start. Stop expecting her to act like him."

"I'm not…"

"Oh really? Then how comes you're so eager to go gung-ho into action, whilst Kari's determined to take the more subtle route? Davis plows in head first, Tai, Kari doesn't. That's why they work so well together."

The blonde man grinned. He was a musician, and by the silence surrounding him, he could tell that he had a captive audience. 

"They're two sides of the same coin, Tai. Their personalities may be different, but their feelings aren't."

he looked retrospective for a moment.

"I think that's why Kari and TK wouldn't have worked out."

"Thanks." TK said wryly.

"Welcome. I don't mean it offensively, little brother. But you're and Kari's personalities are very similar. Eventually, you'd have run out of things to discover about her. that's why us guys need to keep on our toes. The ladies are always throwing new curves for us."

"Oh really, Matt." Tasha observed archly. "And which curves in particular were you referring to?"

Sora blushed. Matt, however, remained unabashed.

"Mental curves, Tasha, although yours aren't that complicated."

"Be nice." She murmured.

"Davis and Kari are constantly discovering new thins about each other, and constantly surprising each other. Even when they eventually know everything about each other, they'll be so wrapped up in each other's personalities that they wouldn't be able to leave even if they wanted to."

=============================================================

'Gatomon?'

Cat-Digimon froze in her tracks as she heard Kari's voice.

"Kari?"

Agumon turned and looked at her strangely.

'Holy shit, this actually works!'

Gatomon realised that the voice had materialised her brain without going through the messy process of her ears first. She framed a reply.

'How are you doing this, Kari?'

'The theories a little involuted. I'll tell you about it later.' The voice in her mind replied. 'in the meantime, I've got a job for you guys. I want you to find Ken and the others.' 

"Got it." Gatomon said aloud.

"Erm, Gatomon, you do realise you're talking to yourself, don't you?" Patomon asked.

"No I wasn't, I was talking to Kari."

"I knew it. She's cracked under the pressure." Agumon said.

Gatomon glared at him.

"I have done no such thing, Agumon. Somehow, Kari's managed to find a way to talk to me with her mind. she said she'd explain it to us later, but right now, she wants us to find Ken and the others."

Agumon shrugged.

"I'll take your word for it. Lets go then."

=============================================================

"I already know." Davis said quietly.

"What? How?" Gennai said, in a shocked tone.

Davis laughed. 

"One of the advantages of having a brash personality is that everyone assumes that you're stupid. I may not be quite the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not as dumb as some people think."

His grin vanished, and he sat down.

"I don't know how I really know, but I already know that Taythe is a Motomiya. There was just something about her. Something familiar."

"That's because you've met the power behind her before." Dartha said.

Gennai looked at him warningly, but the Master shrugged.

"He's going to find out anyway, Gennai. Might as well be from us."

A momentary look of chagrin crossed Gennai's face, but then he nodded.

"You've met the power behind Taythe before Davis. And you've fought it before. You fought it in the middle of a storm, on top of a tower in the middle of a field."

Davis stared at him in disbelief.

"Uncle Paul?"

"Yes. There are two opposing powers in the digital world. In fact, the same two opposites exist in every world. Normally, they're dormant, and they are merely a part of chance. However, sometimes, they have to face off against each other. This only happens on worlds where there is a large amount of power."

"Like the digital world."

"Got it in one. However, if these two powers were to conflict directly, it'd probably pull the entire world apart. And so they've elected champions. You and Veemon, and Taythe and the Dragons."

"Okay, I've got that part, but how come there's so many of them and so few of us?"

"Think about it, Davis."

He did, and to his surprise, not to mention those who knew him, the answer came into his mind very quickly.

"There's always less light than darkness… but a small amount of light can always drive the darkness away."

His Digivice started to glow. Veemon suddenly leapt to his feet, and ran out of the cave.

"Activate it, Davis." Gennai said.

Davis ran after his Digimon companion, and pressed the activation stud on his Digivice.

"VEEMON, WARP DIGIVOLVE TO…"

The light surrounded the small creature, and pulled him into the air. The intensity of it was blinding, and when it finally faded, a white armoured figure hung in the vast cave.

"EDENAMON!"

Gennai grinned.

"It is time."

=============================================================

Far across the land of the digital world, Derron Motomiya looked up from his desk, as he felt the shudders in the dense energy field of the world. He stood.

"It is time."

=============================================================

(A/N)

Told you I wouldn't post as long a chapter this time. Gimme a break, the fics already at 117 pages! (that's longer than "Now, forever and Always", by the way.)

I haven't got a lot to write, but I have got an announcement. Don't worry, I wont pull the same trick I pulled on Fuchan and Elbereth94 and say I'm gonna stop writing Digimon fanfiction. (I'm a CRUEL boy!) but I will give you that actual information.

I'm trying to become a real writer. I'm trying to branch out into a decent piece of original fiction. However, I cant do this with "The Children of Fate" hanging over my head. And so, to try and cut down my workload a bit (HAH!) I'm going to be putting out a new chapter every week for the next six-odd weeks. Or maybe until the fic is finished. I haven't decided yet.

I hope that at least SOME of you think this is good news. ^_^

I also promise you that the end of this chapter DOES foretell that the fic will be picking up. A slow-burn is all well and good, but there's only SO MUCH BUILDUP I CAN WRITE!!!

-Ben.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

*********

The troopers crouched behind the rocks on the dormant volcano, and looked down calmly at the citadel of the dragon-lords. Liam's eyes scanned their target, and he grimaced. This wasn't gonna be easy. Beside him, Nick gave a low snort of laughter.

"Hell, I didn't want to live forever anyway."

Liam grinned at his friend in return. And then he looked back down at the fortress. He sighed.

"Davis, I sure as hell hope you know what you're doing. Lets move out, lads."

The mixture of SAS, DWDF, and GSG-9 troopers started their way down the hill, stealthily moving into position.

=============================================================

"This is the third time this has happened this week!" Taythe fumed.

"It doesn't really matter." Derron replied.

The dark haired girl spun on her father, a dark fire burning in her eyes.

"It matters to me, Father. I don't want Davis to regain any kind of hold on the digital world. Nothing at all!"

"What have I told you about being greedy? Let the dogs have the scraps from the table. We can manage just fine with the main meal."

She glared at him, and then turned away. He grinned at her back.

"Why Taythe, I'd almost think that you weren't ready to meet him."

"I'm ready!"

"Then act like it. Why don't you have another chat with your little friend Hikari? I'm sure she can offer you some insight."

She glared at him again. He stared right back levelly.

"It wasn't a request, Taythe. Remember what I once told you. You obey my orders."

"Because I'm easy to replace, right?" she snarled.

"Easy enough. I'd miss you, of course, but I'd probably get over it. Talk to Hikari. It's almost your last chance."

She stared at him.

"You mean…?"

"yes. Daisuke has become aware.  He now has the power within him. I think it might be politic to start treating the Digidestined humanely."

Taythe shrugged.

"Why bother? Might as well let them know how their gonna live from now on – as slaves."

She turned and stalked away. Derron laughed quietly to himself. 

"You're still unsure of your identity, aren't you, my little champion?"

=============================================================

"Who is she?" Davis asked Gennai. 

The ancient-youthful man had stayed behind after the rest of the group, including Dartha, the Guardians, Willis, Michael and Jun, had left to perform the first attack on the citadel of the dragon lords.

"Taythe? She is a champion, much like yourself, only she serves…"

"That's not what I meant, Gennai." Davis said firmly. DemiVeemon dozed lightly on his partners shoulder.

"Oh?"

"I want to know who she IS, not what she represents. Despite it all, there's got to be a personality underneath all the bluster. I could almost feel it when we fought. It was so…"

"Angry? Offensive? Evil?"

"…Sad."

"That's a strange choice of words."

"She's a strange lady. I've been closer to her than you have, remember?"

Gennai sighed.

"I know. And I also know how that turned out. Maybe you do need to know more about her. If you understand her…"

"Then I can defeat her."

"Possibly." The guardian of the digital world sighed again. 

"Taythe is an enigma. Unlike you, she's never had an ounce of free will in her life. That's the way our sides opposite works. He doesn't like to let people out from under his thumb. Taythe is probably his proudest creation. Not only did she defeat you once, but also she has almost fulfilled her side of the prophecy. She's not just like you in that she's a champion; she's also like you in that she has no fate. But whilst you write your own path, Taythe is so closely manipulated by the enemy and Derron, her fate is being written for her." he stopped. "I see what you mean. She is kind of sad, isn't she? Her soul must be screaming."

"Why?"

"Your souls are very similar. They're almost completely pure. Oh, don't get me wrong, Taythe's on the side of evil, but only a pure soul can be completely compelled by either evil or good. Your souls are like eagles, but whilst yours flies free, Taythe's is locked in a cage created by her masters."

He glanced at his watch; Davis was surprised to notice that it was a Rolex.

"Its time for us to go."

"Alright. Where's Dayla?"

"Right here." Came a sleepy voice. Davis looked at the little girl critically.

"Here." He commanded.

She walked over, and he picked the six-year-old up. She giggled slightly.

"Don't be silly, Dayla. I can move faster if I'm carrying you."

"Yes Daddy."

"Don't do that."

"Yes Daddy."

He sighed.

"I give up. Open the Digiport, Gennai."

The grinning digital master opened a shining portal in the air, and Davis stepped through it…

=============================================================

"How are you doing, Gatomon?"

"It'd be easier if you didn't keep calling me every ten minutes."

The group of Digimon stopped, and turned round to look at her as Gatomon engaged in one of her regular conversations with Kari.

"Stop complaining. This is important."

"that'd be a first."

There was a slightly huffy silence on the contact line, and then Kari continued.

"Look, I've just gotten word that Taythe wants me to go and talk to her again. Will you be all right?"

"You mean, 'will I survive doing the stuff that I've been doing for the past week WITHOUT you looking over my shoulder?' ooh, I dunno. Could be hard."

"Stop being a smartass." And then Kari's presence in her head was gone.

"Finally!" Gatomon said in relief. She turned to the others. "any luck?"

"Nothing. We're looking through most of the tunnels, and we've found a few of the other Digidestined, but we haven't been able tot rack down Ken and Yolei yet." Salamandramon replied.

"How many tunnels we got left?"

"About ten of them, on this level. Armadillomon found Cody, and he's sticking with him for a while, to get an update on their situation." 

Gatomon nodded. She couldn't really begrudge her friend. She'd have dearly loved to spend some quality time with Kari right about now. That, however, wasn't really gonna happen, since Taythe had formed a small attachment to the Cat-Digimon's partner. She looked around at her friends.

"Okay. Lets take a tunnel each, and then meet back here."

As they moved of, Gatomon muttered to herself.

"You'd better be taking care of yourself, Veemon."

=============================================================

"Team one in transit. Lockbuster in place."

"Affirmative, team one. Stand by on signal."

"Roger."

The voices over the radio sounded strangely muted to Liam's ears. Along with the mental reports of the Guardians, The amount of voices travelling into his head at the moment was annoying, to say the least.

"How can you put up with this?" he said to Dartha.

The other man grinned.

"I've had two-thousand-odd years to get used to it. Of course I have the advantage of only knowing about half of what they're saying means."

Liam grinned wryly. When Dartha had passed the mantle of the knight onto him, he'd promised Liam that he wouldn't have the immortality that had come with Dartha's deal. He didn't particularly care at this moment, though. He was more concerned with the attack that he was about to make on the fortified building beneath him. And after that… he was very deeply concerned with a certain person in the mines underneath the building. Almost subconsciously, he turned to look at Michael. Despite the fact that his wounds had only recently healed, the blonde man had insisted upon accompanying them on this mission. After a very harrowing argument with him, Jun had given into this, providing that she could come along. 

"What?" Michael said.

"Huh?"

"You were staring at me, Liam."

The big Irishman laughed.

"And I guess I was, at that. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I don't think that's the reason, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be. There's someone very important to me in those mines." 

Liam nodded, and turned away. He came to a resolution in his mind. Mimi was a good eight years younger than him. Despite the fact that he could still remember the taste and feel of her lips on his, he wasn't going to do anything about it. She needed to be with someone who could offer her the things Michael could. A decent life. Not a relationship with a killer who just happened to moonlight as a bartender. Deep in his mind, he once again saw that rainy Belfast Street, the teenage boy falling to the ground. The slight tinkle of the two spent shells from the silenced beretta. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the world shifted sharply into focus. 

"All teams, report in."

"team one, standing by. Lockbreaker is ready."

"Team two, standing by. Lockbuster is prepared."

"Alright, lads. If I were Davis, I'd make a speech. But I'm not. Lets move out."

He heard a couple of small laughs, and he picked up his rifle. Turning, he glanced at Jun, Willis and Michael.

"You people come in with the Guardians. We're gonna clear them a path throught he commandos, into the fortress. You guys clear."

'We are, Knight. We will defeat any Shadowmon who are near the entrance to the fortress.'

"Alright then."

He toggled the microphone on his radio headset.

"GO, GO, GO!!!"

And the first explosion shattered the calm at the citadel of the Dragon-lords.

=============================================================

The Office was smaller than the ones that appeared on TV. The men sitting around the small table looked only slightly surprised to see Davis. 

"Good afternoon, Mr Motomiya." The first man said in only slightly accented Japanese. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"I'm afraid I'm going to make it less pleasant for you, Mr Prime Minister." Davis said. He put Darla down on the floor, where she stood looking at the two men with a look of mild curiosity.

"I'm sure that you've heard about the situation in the digital world?"

"I'm afraid so." The British Prime minister replied. "I gather you're not n control any more?"

"it's a temporary situation, sir. There are events coming that will decide whether it remains that way."

"Ah. One of those things."

"Yes, sir."

"Then sit down, Representative Motomiya, and tell us what we need to know."

"Thank you, Mr Prime minister."

He sat down at the head of the table.

"What is the situation, representative?" the second man asked.

"Its very simple. We're fucked."  He caught the looks from the other two. "I'm not a diplomat, sirs, so I have to speak my mind. We weren't meant to win the battle at coast town, but that isn't really a comforting thought. The Shadowmon population is so large, that they could easily overwhelm the Digiports if they could get to them at the moment. Fortunately, they're locked down in a fortified position at the moment." He glanced at the prime minister. "I'm afraid that most of the SAS squadron you sent through were lost, Mr Prime minister."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Representative. That makes it personal." The British leader grinned. "Whatever it is you need, we're in."

"Thankyou sir."

The second man glared at his companion.

"It seems I've been strong-armed. Our forces will also help your cause, representative Motomiya."

"Thankyou. It's nice to see you so enthusiastic about my cause… Mr President."

The President of the United States laughed wryly.

"I'm only sorry it didn't come sooner."

"These things happen."

"So you'd better tell us what we need to do now, Representative."

=============================================================

Taythe was sitting in her lounge when Kari came in, escorted by two guards.

"What do you want now, Taythe? I thought you'd bled me dry of information."

"Not quite. I want to talk to you again… about Davis."

Kari gave her a strange look.

"What?"

"That's the first time you've called him by his nickname."

Taythe's eyes narrowed.

"He's getting inside my head!"

"Yeah. He does that." Kari laughed, despite herself.

Taythe looked up at her.

"Please sit down, Hikari." She said quietly.

Kari sat down opposite the girl. There was something in Taythe's voice.

"I… want to apologise to you. I want to apologise for everything that's happened since you got here. Especially for your friend."

"Michael?"

"Yes. If I'd have known, I wouldn't have let Wentela do that. But father interfered. He said that you Digidestined needed to learn your place."

Kari looked at her strangely.

"You're lonely, aren't you, Taythe?"

The raven-haired girls eyes snapped up to her.

"I…"

"You've never had anyone you could call a friend."

"…Friends make you weak."

"You know that isn't true. You've met Davis, so I KNOW that you don't believe that."

Taythe turned away. Kari, on some wild impulse, got up, walked over, and sat next to her on the sofa. She put a hand on the girls shoulder.

"You've always been alone, haven't you? You've never let anyone get close."

"Why do you support Davis the way you do?"

Kari shrugged.

"Because I love him. All of us do. Of course, my feelings run a little deeper than the others."

"How does that make him stronger? I beat him!"

"But you didn't, did you? You failed to kill him. All you did was free him."

"What?"

"Before, Davis was fighting for his own life, but in a scary way, his own life isn't that important to him. But his friend's lives… he would die for us. As we would for him." Kari laughed bitterly. "Why am I telling you this?"

"I don't know. Get away from me."

Taythe shook of the hand on her shoulder.

"I was just…"

"GET AWAY!" the girl yelled.

Kari sighed, stood, and returned to her own seat.

"I told you! Friends are a weakness! I don't have any attachments! That's why I can fight and win."

"What an empty existence."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can't tell you Taythe. You have to find your own path."

The black-haired girl looked at her, a stricken look in her eyes.

"That's what he said…"

Whatever Kari might have said was cut off by a monstrous explosion.

=============================================================

Gatomon dug her way through the last few inches of dirt, cursing all the time. This stuff was never going to wash out, no matter how many baths she had, she was convinced of it. 

She cheered up, however, as the dirt fell through the hole, revealing dim light. She stuck her head through, and looked around. In the upside down view, it took a couple of seconds to orientate herself.

"Gatomon? Is that you???" came a familiar voice.

She twisted around.

"Oh. Hey Ken. Is Yolei with you?"

"Right here. What the hell are you doing there?"

"I was looking for you. the Digimon escaped a while ago, and we've been acting on Kari's orders ever since."

Yolei looked into the little cat face.

"Is it true what we've heard about Davis?"

"I don't know. What have you heard?"

"We heard from the guards… and that Wentela bitch… that he was killed?"

"Yolei, this is DAVIS we're talking about. You know he's invincible." Gatomon smiled. "He's still alive. Trust me. Who else is here?"

"Izzy. He's over in the corner, but he's sleeping. Joe's around too." 

"Okay, I'll report back to Kari…"

A low rumble, followed by a shattering explosion, shook the cave.

"Oh. Never mind. I think it may now be a moot point."

=============================================================

(a/n) well, that's a bit more hectic than the last one, isn't it? 

Yup, it appears I am going to be sticking to my 'one chapter a week' resolution. Of course, a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders this week, with the release of my exam results. I did pretty well this year. ^_^

That's all for now. C ya!


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

*********

Rifle bullets punched through the still morning air as the troopers stormed the breach they had blasted in the back of the Fortress. Liam slammed a fresh magazine into his G36K, and sighted through the built-in scope at the cluster of enemy guards who held out against the ferocious onslaught. He barely thought as he pulled the trigger, sending leaden death towards the man. He didn't need to see the bullet enter the guards head, and in all honesty, he didn't want to. He was already switching to a fresh target by the time the bullet arrived at the guard's head, causing a spout of greyish vapour to erupt from his skull.

"Tango down!" Nick said from next to him, more out of habit than anything else. Somehow it felt wrong to not speak when you were doing work like this.

Michael watched the pair with a kind of morbid fascination. Liam and Nick had fallen into a kind of rhythm, shoot, call, move, shoot. They were a pair of professionals, working in unison. 

And then he didn't have time to think, as a round chipped at the stone beside his head. He pulled up his own sub-machinegun, a lighter weapon than the soldiers carried, and fired the three-round burs that the weapon's safety setting permitted of him. Through the sights, he saw the guard fall to the ground, twitching as the life ebbed out of him. He ducked back behind the rock, where Jun, Willis and Dartha waited with the Guardians.

"Nice shot." Jun complimented him.

Michael felt a surge of horror well up inside him. He had just shot another human being. Shooting a Shadowmon, fine, he could deal with that, but that guard had been someone's husband, father, brother.

"Would you rather it was you?" Jun said.

"I guess not."

"Then you did the right thing. It's a necessary evil, Michael. Don't get worked up about it."

He gritted his teeth, and nodded.

"Dartha! Get your arse movin'!" Liam shouted over the noise of the battle. For some reason, his voice sounded more Irish than it ever had in Michael's memory.

"He always starts talking pure Belfast when he's scared." Jun explained.

"Liam? Scared?"

"Michael, people are shooting at him, and trying to kill him. Of course he's scared!"

The blonde man felt a sudden surge of relief. If Liam could be scared in a situation like this, then it was okay for him to be as well. He leaned round the rock, and fired another short burst into the batch of guards.

"Any feckin' time now, Tetsato!"

The Guardians leapt to their feet, and began sprinting down the avenue between the rocks that was suddenly free of bullets.

Michael sprinted after them, his SMG cold in his hands.

=============================================================

"This cant be happening!"

"Nevetheless, it is." The Shadowmon replied. 

Derron calmed himself.

"My apologies of my outburst. Its an emotion thing."

The Shadowmon growled its understanding, and also managed to convey a fair sense of distaste with the guttural sound.

"What are we dealing with?"

"my guess is that the paladin has arrived." Derron replied.

"Then we shall kill him."

"I rather doubt that."

"Then we shall kill his companions. They shall not be allowed to get to the Digidestined."

"You do that." Derron said casually.

As the creature turned away, he headed to his office. Reaching up behind the desk, he took down the plain broadsword that hung there, and strapped it around his waist. Then, almost without thinking, he picked up TK's sheathed Katana, that he had been unable to move from his desk. Carefully avoiding the hilt, he tied it onto his belt, next to the broadsword. he toggled the transmit button on the radio he kept on his desk.

"Guard commander?"

"Yes sir?" the metallically distorted voice replied.

"Bring the Digidestined up to the arena. Brook no arguments from Wentela – this is a direct order, and I have no time for the witches annoying bullshit."

"Yes sir."

Then Gennai's opposite turned and walked out of the door.

=============================================================

"Careful, Miss Taythe. We don't want you catching a rifle round now, do we?"

It was amazing, Taythe thought, that out of all the people in the fortress, there were only two who treated her like a human being. One was Hikari Kamiya, who even now was being escorted to the natural arena that was in the secondary bowl of the dead volcano that the citadel sat on. The bowl was at the centre of the fortresses structure, and its high, domed ceiling was there for more than aesthetic value.. The second was this bluff, quiet man who was peering over the edge of the castle, hastily dodging the bullets that flew across the battlements.

"Who are they, Darren?" she asked him.

"I reckon, miss, that they're the remainder of the digital world defence force. If that's true, then we've got a problem. Even if there's only about thirty of them out there, and that's all I've seen, they can make a serious dent in our defences. Especially if its Liam Dillon commanding them."

"This Dillon guy… is he as good as you think he is?"

"Better. He's a professional soldier, just like me. I served with him for a while, and he's better at this down and dirty stuff than anyone else in the business. If it's a protracted, tactical war you're looking at, I'm your man – but if it's a dirty scrap in a back alley somewhere, or guerrilla combat in harsh terrain, then there's no one like Liam for you." he grinned. "Maybe you hired the wrong man."

"But… you like him?"

"What, Liam? Yeah. He's a mate."

"So… how can you fight him if you have an attachment?"

"Like I said, me and Liam are professionals. Unlike those things…" he gave a distasteful nod towards the Shadowmon. "We don't really care for killing. Its just part of the job we're doing. Liam's a friend, but you hired me to defend this place, so that's what I'll do."

"What do you think he'll do, Darren?" 

"If I know Liam – And I do – he'll do everything he can to keep the death toll down."

"That's a weakness."

Darren fixed her with a level look.

"Don't ever think that, Miss. If anything, it's the opposite. There are two people in this world who think that killing is a good thing – politicians and psychopaths. If you're going to say things like that, then you're going to make me decide which one you are."

"I don't even know what a politician IS."

He laughed.

"That's a good thing for you."

A voice came up from the attackers.

"Evenin', up there!"

Darren turned back.

"That's Liam for you. he's going to try and negotiate, now that he's got us on the ropes."

The soldier stood, holding his rifle above his head.

=============================================================

"Ever get the feeling you've been somewhere before?" Tai joked.

"Now that you mention it, this place does seem disturbingly familiar." Matt replied.

"Quiet back there!" Wentela snapped.

"Oops." TK grinned.

They were being hustled into a high, domed area. As Tai had mentioned, the place had a very large sense of Deja vu. 

"Seems someone's been ripping off Paul's ideas."

"Or something along those lines."

The arena was strangely reminiscent of its roman namesake. The huge bowl of the crater spread out for a good two hundred yards in either direction. The Digidestined who had already been shepherded in were widely dispersed across the bowl, negating any plans at communication. It was as they were ushered into their space at Gunpoint that Kari rejoined them.

"How's little miss sunshine now?" Tasha asked.

"Oh, she's pretty much the same."

Matt watched the young woman. There was something else there, that Kari wasn't mentioning. She caught his eye, and gave a minute shake of his head. He grinned slightly.

"Stop being analytical." Sora accused.

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you. You keep doing that 'I'm the cool outsider' look."

"I know. But its part of what you find so loveable, right?"

He grinned at her, and squeezed her hand. on the other side of her, Mimi cocked an eyebrow. The girl was getting more and more expressive by the day.

"What?"

Kari, in the meantime, had been staring thoughtfully at the ground, trying to make sense of her exchange with Taythe less than a half-hour earlier. The girl was lonely, there was no doubt about it – but there was something else as well. Something indescribably sad. Something familiar.

"You're woolgathering." Ken said.

"I know Ken, its just that I…" she stopped, and turned slowly in her space. "…KEN?!? YOLEI?!?"

"The two and only." Her purple-haired friend replied.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"I doubt they had a choice, Kari." Tai said Wryly. He was looking down into the centre of the crater. "Is it me, or does that pile of black rock look familiar?"

"It's the Oridian." Ken replied. "We heard the guards talking about it on the way up."

"I thought so." Tai sighed. 

All that they had tried to do so far had been so much wasted effort. All of the Digimon's sabotage efforts, everything. The oridian ore had all been carted up here as soon as they had mined it, and now it was all ready and waiting for the final show.

"Where are the Digimon?"

=============================================================

"Is that you, Old buddy?" Darren called from the roof of the citadel.

"Darren? Darren Olde? Never thought I'd see you around here, mate!"

The defender laughed.

"We all have our moments. What can I do for you?"

"Well, me old friend, it seems to me that we've got a bit of a barney going on here."

"That's a fair description. What do you propose we do about it?"

"well, its very simple, mate. You've got a lot of our friends locked up in there, and I'm a'talkin' civilians, not soldiers. If you release them, we'll back off, and leave your fortress relatively intact."

Taythe stood up at that point.

"You will not breach this fortress, Dillon! The Digidestined are mine."

Darren let his head fall into his hands, as Liam replied.

"Girl dear, we've ALREADY breached your fortress. All we're doin' now is givin' you the opportunity to prevent us doin' something more permanent. Darren, will you stop her from buttin' in please?"

Despite the jovial tone of Liam's words, Darren could hear the edge of steel behind the comments. He shivered as the word 'permanent' ran through his head. Taythe stared at the Irishman in disbelief. For the first time ever in her life, she had been disregarded. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

"Can you go inside, miss?" Darren said.

"I will not."

The defender shrugged at his attacker.

"I tried. I don't think we can agree to your terms, I'm afraid, Liam."

"That's okay, me old mate. I prefer doing it this way. GO!"

At Liam's shout, cries of anguish began to rise up from the Shadowmon in the courtyard. As the defenders on the wall turned, they saw a group of men butchering the foul creatures with double ended katana sword-staffs. Even as they turned, the rest of Liam's troopers ran into the fray, hacking with swords, and shooting with rifles. All to quickly, the Shadowmon were decimated. There hadn't been many of them in the courtyard in the first place, and their mindless savagery was no match for the discipline of the Digital world troopers.

The guards on the walls were a different matter, however. Whilst the guards whom Darren had posted to the mines were green troops, the men on the fortress bastions were seasoned veterans, fully capable of holding their own in a firefight. Even as the last Shadowmon was neatly gutted buy a trooper's broadsword, Darren called out to his men.

"Cover them! Suppression fire only!"

a few of the rifles on the bastion rang out, and the troopers and guardians in the courtyard stopped. 

"Drop your weapons!" Darren called.

Liam grinned up at his friend.

"And if we don't?"

"Then I'll be forced to shoot."

Liam glanced around.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't really feel the need to indulge in mortality today." 

He tossed his rifle to the ground.

"The sword as well."

"Oh no you don't. The swords stay with us. Rifles we can lose, but…"

"Okay. Keep the swords. But keep your hands in plain sight at all times."

"Sure, and would you like to teach me how to tie my shoelaces as well?"

"Why don't you just shoot them?" Taythe demanded.

"Because they've surrendered."

"So?"

Liam laughed at the exchange.

"IT seems you've got your hands full, me old friend."

"You to, mate. Who're the civilians?"

"The last of the Digidestined, and a coupla other important folk."

"Well, that's nice to know. I suppose we'd better take you to the arena."

=============================================================

Kari's breath caught in her throat as the troopers and Guardians were escorted into the arena. Derron Motomiya was waiting for them.

"Ah, the infamous Liam Dillon. Ex-terrorist, mercenary soldier, and expert trooper for hire."

"Fame proceeds me, I see."

Derron moved on, until he came to the Master.

"Tetsato Dartha. It's been a long time."

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." He thought for a second. "I use the word pleasure in its broadest possible sense, of course."

"I believe you knew my ultimate grandfather, Taneka Motomiya."

"I did indeed. It's a pity his descendants aren't more like him."

Even at the distance away, Kari could practically see Derron's eyes narrowing. The leader of the Shadowmon moved on.

"And the last of the Digidestined. Please go and join your friends."

Willis and Michael looked at each other, and walked over to the arena steps. Kari looked over at Mimi, and saw that the pink-haired woman was staring, her eyes fixed on Michael. He grinned.

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated I'm afraid." He said loudly. "Seems Wentela can't do ANYTHING right."

Laughter struck up around the arena, and Wentela started towards him. Derron just glared at her, and she stopped, staring malevolently. The man turned back to Liam.

"But where is the Paladin? Don't tell me he hasn't come to this party."

Liam patted down his pockets.

"Now, I know I've got him here somewhere. Nick, you got him?"

"No, boss. I thought Danny had him!"

"Danny?" 

"I gave him the Haeder, I swear!"

The three of them turned to look at the big German.

"What? I don't have him." Haeder replied in his accented voice.

Liam turned back to Derron, looking embarrassed.

"Eh, sorry. Musta left him in my other combat suit."

By this point the Digidestined were laughing uncontrollably. It felt good. They'd had very little to laugh about over the past few weeks.

'Gatomon, where are you?' Kari sent out.

'We're near the entrance to the arena. We'll bust in when we can, but I don't think we can digivolve.'

Kari looked at Willis.

"Can Terriermon digivolve?"

"I don't think so. There's some kinda interference. Probably from the Oridian."

"Oh. Great. Any other good news?"

"well… Odaiba won the local cup."

Tai turned, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"That IS good news…"

Kari rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please."

Mimi and Michael were staring at each other. Michael was the first one to break the silence.

"Mimi… I…"

"its okay."

"no, it isn't. I'm sorry, Mimi. I'm sorry for everything."

"Its in the past, Michael. Just… hold me."

And they embraced. Mimi finally glanced down into the arena. She hadn't really been paying attention to what had taken place a few seconds ago. Now she saw the familiar shoulder length hair, the sly grin, the confident stance. She broke away from Michael.

The blonde man followed her gaze. His eyes dropped.

"He's the one who saved me, Mimi. He found me outside the entrance to the Forge. He kept me alive."

She grinned slightly.

"He's good at doing things like that."

Michael chose not to pursue the matter. There would be other times.

Back on the Arena floor, Liam grinned defiantly at Derron. The man was getting distinctly annoyed.

"MR Dillon, I don't have time for this. Where is the Paladin? Is he too cowardly to come and face us?"

Liam laughed out loud, a rich laugh, full of whisky and good humour.

"Jeysus, I know you're a male Motomiya, but are ya all this dumb? Can't ya even recognise a distraction when you see it?"

And the second explosion of the day ripped through the citadel.

=============================================================

The main entrance to the fortress of the dragon lords was covered by a huge metal door, feet wide, an metres high.

However, it wasn't that thick. The explosion tore it apart like paper, sending shards of shrapnel flying into the Shadowmon inside.

Daisuke Motomiya and Flamedramon stood side by side in the door.

"Sorry we're late." The paladin said. "Traffic was a BITCH."

=============================================================

(A/n)

Well, now that everything's in place, the actual fighting's gonna start. Not to bad for a chapter that doesn't even feature Davis until the last line, eh?

Another one next week!


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

*********

The Shadowmon blinked in the daylight that flooded through the busted door.

"What?" Davis said. "Haven't you ever seen the walking dead before?"

He pulled his Berettas from their holsters, and in that single moment, all hell broke loose.

=============================================================

"Get more people down there, immediately!" Darren yelled.

"Don't do that." Derron said.

"Sir, I can't allow this incursion to go unchecked."

"If you want to lose your men, go ahead, but I think that the Paladin is going to be fairly unstoppable this time."

The guard commander gaped at him.

"Sir…"

"Just trust me on this one, Darren. The Paladin has a job to do. I'd rather it was the Shadowmon getting shredded than your men."

Darren sighed.

"Yes, sir"

"One of those Days, huh?" Liam said.

Derron didn't turn around.

"Mr Dillon, I don't care for your wit. You may join your friends in the auditorium. Wentela, please escort them."

"It would be my pleasure, sir." The big woman said, almost fawningly.

Liam rolled his eyes.

"She's obviously used to receiving commands."

"Yeah. Bet they have to be short and to the point though." Nick replied.

"What, are you thinking along the lines of 'Sit!' 'Stay!'"

"Yeah, that was the area."

Derron watched them as they were escorted up the amphitheatre. Fascinating Men. Almost completely without fear. He'd never met anyone who wasn't in the least intimidated by him. No sane man would even have dared to offer the impudence that Liam Dillon had. Well, no-one had ever accused the big Irishman of being sane.

He just wondered what Wentela would make of them.

=============================================================

"God bless all here." Liam said cheerily as they approached the group.

"Silence, filth!" Wentela snapped.

"Or what?" Liam asked. "You'll shoot us? You botched the job of the last one, me dear. Michael, you wanna take a bow?"

The blonde man laughed.

"I'll pass."

Wentela took a close look at him. Her eyes widened.

"You!"

"Yeah. He keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, don't he?" Kari said.

The big woman's eyes snapped round to the current leader of the Digidestined (although, Kari thought, I might be relinquishing THAT fun position soon, or so she hoped) and pulled the riding crop from her belt. She swung the leather thong at the brown-haired girl. Tai lunged to get in the way.

Nick got there first. He moved in front of Wentela with the speed of a martial artist, and took the massive blow of the crop neatly on his forearm. An ugly red welt rose where the leather hit him. He didn't flinch.

"Is that the best you got?" he challenged.

Liam groaned. Bloody Englishman always got like this when he saw ladies being picked on. Wentela stared at the Londoner in disbelief, and raised the crop again. The blow whistled through the air.

It never connected. Reaching up at phenomenal speed, Nick grabbed the big woman's arm, forcing it backwards. Impotent fury rose in Wentela's eyes.

"You're mine. I'll kill you, you shit!"

"I'm quaking. Why don't you piss off back down to your master, dog?"

"You're all mine! I'll kill you if I goddamn want to!"

Nick's voice lowered dangerously. 

"You'll never get the chance. Now fuck off, there's a good girl."

Liam groaned again. Wentela looked into Nick's eyes.

She saw something there that she really didn't like. Without another word, she turned and stormed back down the stairs.

Nick turned to the Digidestined. And bowed.

"I will now be signing autographs. Anyone who wishes to see round two, hang around, 'cos I doubt its far away."

"Thanks, Nick." Kari said.

"You're welcome, little lady. Where would this world be, if it weren't for some good old fashioned English chivalry, eh?"

"Nick?" Liam said.

"Yes boss?"

"Shut up, and sit down."

"Yes boss."

The batch of troopers took their seats. Liam and Nick sat on the backmost row.

"that was dangerous, Mate." Liam said.

"I know. But did you see the look on her face?" Nick gloated.

The big Irishman looked at his friend. He had hardly ever seen the look on Nick's face before. The look was a very simple one. A slight smile was tugging at the corner of the Londoners mouth, but there was no humour in his eyes, only a bleak determination. Liam was suddenly very glad that he wasn't Wentela.

"Liam…" came a familiar voice. He flinched slightly. No sense in delaying the inevitable.

"Hello, Mimi. Sorry we took so long."

=============================================================

the Berettas coughed acrid smoke, the sulphury smell permeating the air in the entrance hall of the Citadel. Combined with the roaring heat of the fireballs that Flamedramon sent roaring down the gallery, there was very little chance of stopping the paladin's mad onslaught.

"How you doin' buddy?" Davis yelled to his Digimon.

Flamedramon proceeded to roast another of their misshapen enemies.

"I'm good. You seen any sign of a way out yet?"

"Nothing! It must be at the other end of the hall!"

Flamedramon grinned from under the helmet that covered the front of his head.

"Well, I didn't come here for the company. What are we waiting for?"

The pair charged, filling the air around them with noise, fire, lead and confusion. Davis leapt into the air, and brought his foot round, kicking a Shadowmon square in the face. Even as he landed, he fell to the floor, allowing his Digimon partner to send a titanic wave of flame against their enemies. Charbroiled Shadowmon was definitely on the menu tonight.

But they were slowing down. Even as they tried to move forward, more of the creatures were blocking their path. 

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Flamedramon yelled.

"If I knew, I'd blow it up!"

"Great, just great, Davis."

The Paladin slammed his right pistol across the jaw of his assailant, and neatly drilled a hole in its head as it fell.

"Don't worry about it, pal. I've got a little surprise."

Backing off a couple of paces, he pulled a palmtop from his trench coats pocket, and attached it to a slot on his arm.

"D-MOD ONE, ACTIVATE!"

Flamedramon's armour shone. Blinding white light fused around it, as it began to shift and change in respond to Davis's yelled command. The Shadowmon all backed off warily at the sudden show of pyrotechnics.

The light faded. Now, instead of the half facemask that he had worn before, Flamedramon's head was fronted by a full visor. His eyes shone brightly out of the eyeholes, and the new gun-barrels that sprouted from his claws gleamed ominously in the dim light of the hallway.

"Meet, Flamedramon BMF, boys. I'm sure he wants to make your acquaintance. But first, allow me to introduce you to some other friends."

He raised his hands again.

"This is Mr MP5K one, and this is Mr MP5K two. How's about they say hello."

The submachineguns that had taken the place of Davis's Berettas, which now hung in their holsters at his sides, sprayed a hail of bullets into he crowd of Shadowmon, scything through them like a knife through butter. But Davis wasn't aiming to wipe out the Shadowmon.

He was just giving Flamedramon some space.

Swiftly moving in front of his partner, the upgraded armour Digimon stood defiantly. He grinned inside his helmet.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what the BMF stands for…"

Slots appeared in the sides of his armour, and folded outwards. The sparkling new rocket launchers sighted themselves alongside his hand-cannons.

"FLARE VOLLEY!!!"

And inferno of rockets, fireballs and liquid fire swarmed into the Shadowmon, decimating their ranks. The two new barrels in Flamedramon's hands had turned out to be flamethrowers.

"… its stands for bad mutherfugger, assholes."

He lowered his arms, allowing the weaponry to fold back into place.

"I really like these new toys."

=============================================================

"'Sorry we took so long?' is that ALL you have to say, Liam Dillon."

"Well, I said hello as well, if we're being finicky."

Mimi glared at him. He gave her a gentle smile in return; trying to soften the blow he was about to give.

"Mimi… I don't know what to say to you."

She stood still, her facial features froze as he spoke.

"I don't know how you feel." He said quietly, "But I do know how I feel. I'm not gonna say the words, Mimi. I Cant." He twisted away from her. "It was a moment Mimi. I shouldn't have done what I did, but I cant change the past." He turned back, and looked into her eyes. "But I can do something to give you a future. He," he pointed at Michael. "Could give you things that I never could. He can make you happier than I ever could." He sighed. "And I'm not going to take that chance away from you on accounts of myself. No matter how I feel, I cant be what I'd like to be. I'm a soldier. I know when to cut my losses and run."

She still stood there, staring at him, her eyes empty.

"So, that's the way its gonna be, is it Liam?"

"Yeah. I guess so, girl dear."

"Did you ever asking my opinion on the matter."

"Mimi, this is my decision…"

"'fraid not, bub. When the time is right, I'll make my own choice."

"Whatever ya say, girl dear, " he retorted, "But I've already made mine." 

Kari sat watching the two. She hated this goddamn situation, and for a moment, she thought that she should intervene.

Matt's face stopped her. He looked straight into her eyes with that piercing gaze of his, and slowly shook his head. This was their problem. Kari nodded, and focused her mind inwards. Something inside her clicked, and she knew that the time had come.

"Gatomon. Come into the auditorium now. Get all the Digimon to link up with their partners."

"Got it. Any particular reason?"

"Nope, just another one of those feelings."

Gatomon didn't even bother to dignify that with a reply. Bright creatures, their various appendages, tails and antenna bouncing, bounded into the auditorium, and up the steps to their partners.

Derron Motomiya took it surprisingly well.

"Ah. I see everyone's here."

=============================================================

Taythe had found herself relegated ton the sidelines of the conflict for the moment. She couldn't go downstairs and face Davis at this stage, and there wasn't really anything for her to do to help her father.

Her father…

She had always called him by that term, and all the love she had possessed had been sent to him, but lately she had begun to feel that he had never really returned the pure emotions she had given him.

Derron wasn't her real father. She had known that all her life. She had never known her parents, never met her mother. She couldn't even remember her face. But she did remember a sensation of…

Peace. She had belonged with her mother. She had loved Taythe. Taythe was sure of it. But how could she tell? She'd never had chance to ask her, and she never would. So far as she knew, she had never been loved.

She looked at the man who had raised her, and deep in her soul she felt the hollowness that had been with her all her life.

She knew now that she was nothing more than a tool to Derron. But there was nothing she could do about it. Destiny compelled her, and her fate was even now charging through the lower halls of the citadel, carving a path of destruction to this room.

"Taythe" Derron called her.

Strange, she thought. In those past two seconds, I've even begun to stop thinking of him as my Father.

"Taythe! I need you!" he snapped.

She felt a sudden surge of hatred run through her, but she stepped forward anyway. She was helpless.

As she moved forward, Derron removed his cloak, and allowed it to fall the ground, showing his armour.

=============================================================

"Son of a bitch!" TK half yelled.

"What is it?" Patomon asked his partner.

"That bastards wearing my sword!"

Kari and Gatomon glanced down into the arena. She could indeed see the hilt of the silver Katana at Derron's side. She grinned.

"Don't worry, TK. You'll get it back soon enough."

=============================================================

"Davis, duck!"

The young Paladin threw himself forward, diving to the ground in front of Flamedramon, and dropped the spent MP5Ks. They had served their purpose. He pulled the Berettas from their holsters.

Flamedramon levelled his flamethrower barrel at the batch of Shadowmon who had been sneaking up behind his partner, and fired. Liquid flame leapt out, engulfing the creatures. Their screams filled his mind. he glanced down as he heard the sharp reports of Davis's Berettas.

"You doin' okay?"

"Good enough, buddy!"

The armour-Digimon stepped forward, allowing his partner to get to his feet. The two of them stood back to back, blasting away at the dark creatures that surrounded them.

Davis felt the pins in his Berettas click on empty. No time to reload. He reached under his trenchcoat, his hand finding the hilt of his sword. In one smooth motion, he pulled it free of the scabbard, immediately into an upward-flowing cut that gutted the first Shadowmon in range like a freshly landed salmon.

"You're gonna have to watch my back, Flamedramon."

"Aw, and I was just starting to have fun."

Davis grinned. There was joy in the fight. Not a joy that involved thought, but mad, screaming adrenaline fuelled passion that raged from the depths of the soul. He allowed himself to sink into it, his skill and instincts replacing the need for thought.

He saw it.

"Falmedramon! The doors over there! It has to be the right one!"

Unlike Gatomon, Veemon did not have a particularly enquiring nature. He didn't feel the need to argue with Davis over his decision, but decided instead to trust his partner implicitly. He levelled his cannons in the direction of the door, and fired.

"FLARE VOLLEY!"

The missiles and flames leapt from the Digimon's hands again. There were more of them this time, as Flamedramon expended his stock of ammunition in a bid to wipe every single Shadowmon out of the room.

He managed the task, and succeeded in taking a fair amount of the wall, ceiling and door with them. Davis glanced at his partner.

"Overkill, much?"

"I don't think Taythe will get her cleaning deposit back."

The pair rushed forward, but before they could reach the door, a Shadowmon stepped out, swinging its sword in a cruel stroke. The blade caught Flamedramon on the side of the head, and the Shadowmon's huge strength sent the smaller Digimon flying across the room. The backhand followed swiftly, aimed at the position where Davis's neck would have been.

With typical cat-like reflexes, fuelled by the adrenalin coursing through his system, the paladin leapt back, allowing the cut to slash by him by mere inches. He landed in a ready position, his grey katana held in both hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Flamedramon shift, groaning, into a sitting position. He couldn't allow the Shadowmon the advantage in this fight.

Fast as lightening, he moved. The Shadowmon Commander slashed in vain at his faster opponent, giving Davis the opening he had been waiting for. The katana lashed up, cutting deep into the creature's neck. Davis was already past the commander by the time the decapitated corpse dropped to the floor.

Flamedramon got to his feet, and strolled up next to his partner.

"What is it with you and head-lopping?"

"It's the quickest way to get the job done." He pushed new magazines into his Berettas. "Shall we?"

"Lets."

The pair raised their feet, and kicked hard into the door, blasting it open, as a blinding light spilled out.

=============================================================

Kari stood up as she heard the explosions out in the corridor. She glanced at her friends.

"Davis!" they cried in Unison, all getting to their feet. Wentela spotted them immediately.

"Sit down!"

Kari glared at her, and her hands reached behind her back to the knives in her belt. Liam grabbed her wrist.

"Easy, lass."

"No! She's Mine!"

"Not yet, she isn't. Besides, I think Nick's gonna deal with her."

"Not if I get there first." She snarled. Gatomon hissed from beside her.

"You wont."

He let go of her arms.

"Now, keep your hands off those knives. Its not time for that yet."

She glared at him, but moved her hands back around to her front. None of the group sat down.

"Taythe, I need you!"

She heard Derron's yell, and turned to look at them. The cloaked girl walked across the arena floor to stand beside her father.

=============================================================

"Its time, Taythe. This is your moment."

"I understand… father."

Derron looked at her when he heard the note in her face, and took in the empty look in her eyes.

"So, that's the way it will be. Do your job, Taythe."

She nodded, and pulled her Digivice from her belt. The D3 sparkled as she raised it into the air. She felt the power surge through her, and a titanic beam of energy leapt up into the air.

Twelve points branched off of the beam, stopping in mid air around the central column. The main blast leapt up to the domed roof, and the stone became completely see-through, showing the cloudy day outside.

The blast died away, and the twelve dragons that were the ancient guardians of the digital world, before they became slaves to the dragon-lords, hung in the air, their huge wings flapping lightly.

The giant beasts looked own, and opened their mouths. Huge blasts of energy flew out, and slammed into the pile of Oridian ore that lay in the middle of the arena. 

A second beam of energy, flew up into the ceiling, even as an explosion rocked the room. the door vanished, and two familiar figures appeared in its centre.

"Davis!" Kari cried, and began running. Wentela moved to stop her, but the smaller girl leapt into the air, and slammed her foot across the face of the big woman. She didn't know where the energy ans skill came from, but she was glad it was there. Wentela fell back like a ton of bricks. She could here the sounds of the other running behind her. 

In Davis's left hand was a Beretta, and his right held the grey steel Katana that he had forged in the underground village and his trenchcoat flared out behind him like a cloak. Flamedramon stood beside his partner, the upgraded flamethrower barrels in his hands shining. Davis grinned when he saw her running towards him, and he spread his left arm out.

She flew into him, throwing her arms around his neck. His arm enfolded her, and his hand stroked her hair gently. He kissed the top of her head. And she could feel his tears.

"Kari… thank god…"

"Davis…"

She choked up as Her happiness welled over her, and she looked up into his face. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was staring past her, up at the dome.

"What… What is it, Davis?"

he held her against him.

"Don't look, Kari. Just don't look." 

But she gently pried free of his grasp, and turned, to look up at the ceiling. When she did, all her happiness seemed to melt away, as she saw the black, swirling expanse up there.

The dark ocean had come to the citadel.

=============================================================================

(A/n)

Ooh, we're into cliffhanger territory here, ladies and gentleman. I thank that we can expect to see this fic winding to an end within the next few chapters.

In the meantime, I'm back to school at the tail-end of next week, but I'm still gonna keep writing one chapter of TCOF a week. It's a big drive to finish this fic now. Lets face it, six months is one HELL of a time to spend on one fic. ^_^

Ja ne!

-Ben.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

*********

The water of the dark ocean moved on the dome, a reflection of the scene beneath it, devoid of colour and life.

Davis looked at the pile of Oridian, and saw that I was glowing still, forming the unmistakable shape of a Digiport.

"I was too late."

"No. I think you're here just on time, Davis." Kari replied.

"Thanks." 

He grinned at her. There were things that needed to be said, and he desperately wanted to say them. But now was not the time. First he had to fulfil his destiny.

"Drop your weapons!" Derron yelled.

Davis stepped past hid friends, his sword and gun held lightly in either hand.

"And if we don't?"

"Then I'll have you shot."

"You know that you wont do that."

Derron grinned viciously.

"Oh, the only one I need is you, Paladin."

Davis smiled slightly. Figured. He should have known that Derron would play his friends against him, rather than his own life.

"And what about you, Taythe. What have you got to say about all this?"

"I have nothing to say to you, Motomiya."

"Even after all those dreams you've been having. I'm disappointed."

The black haired girl glared at him.

"So those were you!"

"A part of me. I was pretty much out of it at the time myself."

"Enough of this." Derron cut through them. "Throw down your weapons, or watch your friends die, Paladin."

"What choice do you leave me?"

He tossed the Beretta to the ground, and reversed his sword. Raising the steel blade, he looked across it at his opposite. The he drove the point of the katana deep into the rock ground. The sword quivered slightly as he removed his hand from the hilt. Derron stepped forward, and pulled at the handle. The blade stubbornly refused to come out of the ground. Finally, he stopped, and left it there.

"And so its come to this." Derron said. "The paladin is within my grasp, and the final element of the puzzle is in place. The dark ocean is set to return to the digital world, and Taythe shall rule!"

"Guided by you, obviously." Davis said wryly.

"Be silent!" he snapped back. "You are nothing but the offspring of a bastard line! A bunch of fools and thieves, who wanted the digital world all for themselves! You are nothing compared to me!"

"Maybe that's so." Davis replied. "But I'm still gonna kick your ass."

The Digidestined watched, and Kari could not believe the new steel in her lover's voice. Despite his almost comedic comments, Davis was letting them all know where he stood. He would fight to the bitter end, and nothing would stand in his way.

She vowed silently to stand there with him. Almost involuntarily, she stepped forward.

"No, Kari." He said. "This is something I have to do alone."

She stopped.

"Davis…"

"Don't worry, Kari. I'm not feeling Mortality verging in on me yet."

She smiled slightly, and stepped back again.

Davis looked into Derron's face.

"I know what you want. The dark ocean requires a sacrifice, doesn't it?"

"You are wiser than you look, Daisuke." 

"Thanks… I think. So what do you want me to do about it?"

Derron's grin was the nastiest thing that the young Paladin had ever seen, and although he didn't show it, it chilled him to the bone. Behind the master of the citadel, the Digiport in front of the oridian grew larger.

"I want you to choose who goes. One of your Digidestined friends must be sacrificed, so I'll offer you a choice. You must pick between Ken Ichijochi, Hikari Kamiya, and Mimi Tachikawa."

Davis laughed.

"Well, shit. There ain't much of a choice there, pal."

He turned, and walked back to his friends. TK grinned at him.

"Well, I guess its gonna be me, huh?"

"Why would I pick you, moron?"

"Well, better someone who knows the dark ocean, than someone who doesn't."

"Shut up, Ken. Its not you."

Mimi stepped forward, a smile on her face. 

"Well, I guess this saves me having to make any important decisions about my relationships. Lets get this over with."

"Mimi…"

"Shut it, Davis. We both know that neither Ken nor Kari can be exposed to the dark ocean again. I can survive, and I'll find a way back."

Davis shook his head, and moved on to Kari. She didn't say a word, but just looked at him and smiled. Gently, tenderly, he reached behind her, and pulled her to him.

"You're gonna have to look after yourself, Kari."

"I know, Davis. If anyone can bring me back…"

He kissed her softly on the mouth, the gentlest brushing of his lips against hers. Then he turned away. Slowly, he walked back to Derron, his eyes cold.

"I have made my choice, Derron Motomiya."

"I thought you might have, Daisuke Motomiya. Hikari Kamiya, Step forward."

Kari walked to stand beside Davis.

"You have been chosen as a sacrifice to the dark ocean. Do you have anything to say?"

"Yeah. The food here sucks."

Davis reached over to her, and took his hand in hers. To anyone outside, it might have looked like some strange kind of wedding ceremony, rather than the giving up of a life.

"I will escort her to the Digiport, Derron."

"As you wish, Daisuke. When you come back, however, your final duel with Taythe must begin."

"I understand."

Hand in hand, the two lovers walked to stand before the burning white light of the Digiport. Kari turned to Davis.

"Well, I guess this is it." She said lightly. "Don't you mope around about me, Davis. I want you to kick Taythe's ass."

"I will, don't you worry, Kari."

He pulled her into a hug, his arms enfolding her. She found that there were tears in her eyes.

"Remember, Kari. I will always love you, no matter where you are, or where I am. Carry that with you. Now, forever…"

"And always." She finished, grinning slightly. She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment, and then looked up at him.

"Well, I guess its time to go."

"I guess so."

Without warning, he gave her an almighty shove, all of his strength behind hit. Not into the Digiport, but in the opposite direction. She hit the ground hard, and looked up at him with astonishment on her face.

"Hey, you didn't really think I was gonna let you go through there, did I?" he grinned. "You're in charge now, Kari. Good luck." He glanced past her. "guess we wont be fighting after all, Taythe. Sorry."

"Davis… NO!"

She screamed the final cry, desperately trying to stop him. But he had already turned away from her. For a single moment, time seemed to freeze, and she saw him, his trenchcoat swirling out behind him, silhouetted against the Digiport. And then he stepped forward, the light engulfing him, his form fading away.

The light dimmed, leaving only the dark black slabs of the oridian ore. She looked up at the ceiling, and for a split second, she swore she could see a figure falling through the air, his body entering the black ocean with hardly a splash.

Veemon and Gatomon came to stand beside her. Veemon's upgraded armour had vanished the moment Davis had stepped through the portal, shrinking him back into his rookie form. He put his small claw on her shoulder, like a condoling hand at a funeral.

=============================================================

He dived through the air, and the black water of the ocean hit him like a wall. He went straight through, falling through the liquid as if it were air. Voices began whispering to him in the recesses of his mind.

_"Coward"_

_"You should have stayed and fought."_

_"Traitor."_

"Murderer."

That last one really got his attention. He closed his eyes and opened his mind instead, allowing the ocean to flood in.

=============================================================

"Erm… that was unexpected." Liam said.

"You're telling me." Derron replied. The man was almost as shocked by Davis's actions as the Irish trooper. He turned to Dartha.

"What now, Tetsato?"

"Why the hell are you asking me?"

"Because you're the only one with access to the prophecies, dammit!"

"Oh, that. Well, I can tell you absolutely nothing, I'm afraid."

Derron gaped at him.

"Davis is Chana-Paladin, remember? He's writing his own fate."

Kari turned from her seat on the floor.

"Erm, you're moving your lips, and yet no sense comes out."

Dartha rolled his eyes.

"Alright, children, Gather round."

He sighed.

"As far as the theory goes – Taythe and Davis each represent opposite aspects of the potential destinies of the digital world. The final fate of the digiworld rests on the clash of those two elements, and so, in order for that clash to be free of constraints, neither the Paladin nor Taythe are confined by fate. Is everyone following?"

Taythe nodded.

"So, I'm Daisuke's opposite?"

"Yup. Essentially, you're like two sides of the same coin."

"Am I Heads or tails?"

"Tails."

"Why?"

"Because Davis appeared on the scene first, and everyone ALWAYS says heads first. It makes sense if you think about it." He grinned. "But anyway. The duel between Taythe and Davis will be the event that's decides which side the coin comes up." He stopped, and thought. "However, by leaping into the dark ocean like that, it's entirely possible that Davis has introduced a third element into the equation – choice."

"Do you think he knows that?" Liam asked.

"No. He was just being disgustingly noble." He sighed. "I have no idea what effect this will have on the outcome."

"Oh, that's just great." Derron snapped. "So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"Well, I don't know about you," Nick said, "But I'm gonna make myself comfortable. You might want to get someone to pick Wentela off the steps, by the way. It seems that Kari's developed a fairly nasty flying kick in the past month." 

=============================================================

He was standing on the beach once again. His house was just a little further ahead of him, and he smiled. Inside, he knew that Kari and his daughters would be waiting for him. Maybe he'd take Gekkou out and have a game of football on the sand. Anything to avoid taste-testing for his wife.

He moved up the steps to the front door. He thought he heard a voice calling him, and he turned around. Seeing no-one, he opened the door…

Arra watched him enter the house. She had called to him, but she knew that there was nothing she could do to help the young paladin at this point. Some things had to be done by one person.

"Do you think he can make it?" she asked the two men standing next to her.

"If anyone can, he can". Jake Motomiya said as his son opened the door. Ichiro Motomiya nodded in agreement. Ichiro wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Davis opened the door and stepped through…

He was standing on the beach once again. His house was just a little further ahead of him, and he smiled. Inside, he knew that Kari and his daughters would be waiting for him. Maybe he'd take Gekkou out and have a game of football on the sand. Anything to avoid taste-testing for his wife.

He put his foot on the first step leading up to the front door. 

The house disintegrated in a massive explosion. Thrown back, he slammed into the ground several yards away, the black water of the ocean lapping at his head. He stood, and ran towards the burning building.

"KARI! GEKKOU! HINODE!!!" he yelled, his voice filled with the grief of loss.

He felt the presence behind him, and turned. Silhouetted against the monochromatic sunset, he saw the shadowy figure.

"You! You did this!"

"Yes, I did."

"Why! Why did you do this to me!!?"

"Why? Why? I despise you! I will do anything I can to destroy you!"

Davis saw something glinting in the ashes of his home, and reached for it. Despite the blazing heat of the fire, the hilt of the Katana was cool, the weight of the sword comforting in his hand. He felt his anger overwhelm him.

The shadowy figure pulled his own katana out of its scabbard. Although he couldn't see his face, Davis could tell that the mystery man was smiling. He rushed at him, his sword coming low into a lethal cut. 

The shadowman parried easily. The sound of metal on metal rang out over the beach. Davis spun, bringing his blade into the backhand that followed as inevitably as night followed day.

"WHO ARE YOU!" he yelled.

The figure stepped away, and laughed coldly. There was no humour behind that laugh.

"After all we've been through together, you still don't know me. How pathetic."

The shadowman stepped into the light, and for the first time, Davis saw his features.

Brown, Spiky hair, a dark t-shirt, dark jeans and a flowing black trenchcoat. A pair of shattered goggles were perched on the man's head, their lenses mere shards of glass. Davis stared into the mirror image of his own face.

"Well, looky here, Davis. Guess I'm you."

The slash came with only the slightest of warnings. If Davis hadn't been so intently studying his opposites face, he wouldn't have seen the slight tightening around the eyes that pre-empted the strike. His own Katana leapt up into a parry, blocking the blow clumsily.

"Who…?"

"I'm the part of your soul that you never want to see, Daisuke." The Katana leapt at his face, and Davis jerked back from it, allowing it to move in front of his face. Instead of counter-attacking, he dropped, sweeping his leg around to hook under the mirror-images feet.

His enemy jumped over the kick and Davis rolled back, coming to his feet with a cat-like grace.

"I'm the real you, Daisuke Motomiya! I'm a hateful, spoilt little brat, who always got what he wanted, and took it without any thought for others!"

"No! I'm not like that!"

"Oh really?"

Davis leaped at his opponent, his foot aimed at his face. The dark-Davis grabbed the limb, and swung him around, sending him flying down the beach. He hit the ground hard, and felt a rib crack. Wincing with the pain, he got to his feet.

"You always wanted to be the leader! Of your own family, and of the Digidestined!" the sneering image of himself said as they circled each other. "Think about it, Motomiya! You bullied the others around to your way of thinking, TK would have been a better leader of the Digidestined, and deep down, you know it!"

The dark version grinned maliciously.

"Remember the time that Jun baked all those cookies for her first boyfriend? What did you do? You stole them. It wasn't even because you were hungry, oh no. It was because you wanted to show her up. Remember how hard she cried?"

"I gave them back."

"But the damage was done, Daisuke!"

Dark-Davis's hand whipped up, and a small throwing knife launched at Davis. The blade embedded itself in the flesh of his shoulder, and Davis winced with the pain.

"And remember that last flight of your fathers? Remember how your mother cried when his friend bought the news to her?"

"How could I forget?"

"But secretly, you were GLAD that he was gone. Now it was YOUR time to shine. Inside, you were laughing when you saw your moms tears!"

Something snapped inside Davis, and this time it want his ribs. As if a vial had broken, calmness spread over the anger in his soul.

"No. I never felt anything like that." He said.

"YOU DID!"

"I did not. Your lies are nothing but dust and air."

He felt his wounds begin to heal, and he pulled the small throwing knife from his shoulders, dropping it to the sand. Reversing his katana, he pushed it into the scabbard at his hip.

"I loved my father. I loved him more than life itself. And I love him still. You are a creature of lies and hate. You disgust me."

He smiled, a gentle, honest smile, and more than anything he had done so far, it seemed to cause his enemy pain.

"But you are still a part of me. Nothing I ever do will change that. You are the anger in my soul. But I will not allow that anger to control me. All that leads down that route is suffering." He shrugged. "And I've got better things to do with my time."

A crack spread across the sky. The Dark-Davis looked up, and screamed in horror. Returning his gaze to Davis, he rushed at his quarry, the Katana raised above his head. The blade came slashing down…

Davis's hands clapped together, stopping the blade in mid stroke. Davis grinned past it at the dark part of himself.

"Like I said, you're a part of me. My strength comes from many aspects of myself, and one of those is you. I cannot allow you to defeat me, not when I still have things to do."

He twisted his hands, and snapped the blade neatly along its width. Pulling his hands back, he lunged, and the shard of blade pierced the chest of his dark-self like a knife going through butter.

"I'm sorry, buddy. Rest well."

The figure collapsed to the ground, and as Davis watched, he began to dissolve, his molecules spinning up into the air to swell around Davis. As they moved, they changed colour, beginning to glow with a golden light.

A second crack spread across the sky, running from horizon to horizon. Tiny splinters seemed to split away, falling into the dark ocean.

"All right, Grandmother. You can stop hiding now."

He felt them beside him.

"How did you know?" Arra asked.

"You're presence has a certain… flavour about it."

She laughed at that.

"You did well, kid." Jake said.

"Thanks Dad. But it isn't over yet."

"Not by a long shot." Ichiro replied. "You've still got to save that girl of yours." Ichiro grinned at his two great-grandchildren. "I've gotta admit, Daisuke, you've got my taste in gorgeous women."

He didn't get any further than that, because Arra elbowed him sharply in the ribs. Davis laughed.

"Well, I gotta go now, folks."

"Just one last thing." Arra said. Ignoring her gasping husband lying on the sand, she stepped towards him, and placed a hand on his forehead. "You've defeated your worst fear, Davis. The version you just faced wasn't just the dark part of your soul, it was what you'd be like if you'd taken the path of darkness. When you defeated it, you released something within yourself."

"I can feel it."

"That power is yours now, Daisuke. Its to do with as you wish. You could be a king or god."

He laughed.

"Why would I want to be those? I'm not built for bureaucracy."

She smiled.

"Good for you. do what you must, Daisuke, and know that we are with you."

Davis put his hand on his heart.

"You'll be here?"

"We always have been. You just had to realise it."

And then they were gone. But Davis didn't feel alone.

He started to glow.

=============================================================

Kari looked up at the dome, feeling something deep inside her.

"I love you, Davis. Come back to me."

Taythe followed her gaze, and gasped as the dome of the arena began to glow with a deep golden light, swelling to blinding proportions.

Veemon smiled.

=============================================================

On the monochromatic beach, Davis heard Kari's words winging their way to him from the digital world. He smiled, and allowed the golden light to permeate his body.

=============================================================

Derron stared at the dome.

"What's happening?" he yelled.

"On the off hand, me old son," Liam said. "I'd say you're in a spot of bother."

=============================================================

The energy blasted out of him in a dazzling wave, and the monochromatic world suddenly burst into bright colour. The dark ocean boiled, evaporating away into nothing.

Davis grinned, and soared into the suddenly bright blue sky, heading for the point where the two cracks crossed each other.

=============================================================

The dome shattered as a fireball blasted straight through it, the glass shards vanishing before they even hit the floor of the arena. The fireball surged straight down, and as it stopped just above the arena floor, it changed into the shape of a man, etched in golden flame.

"Davis?" Kari whispered.

The figure showed no sign of having heard her. it walked straight past her, to where Davis's steel-grey katana still stood, embedded in the rock surface of the arena floor. Reaching out with one flaming hand, the figure gripped the hilt of the sword, and pulled it free.

The golden light seemed to focus on his hand, spreading along the blade, and fading from the rest of his body. The light finally dimmed, and Davis stood there, his trenchcoat swirling behind him, and a now golden-bladed katana bright in his hands.

"Hey, guess what folks? I'm back!"

And the Shadowmon surged forward as he raised the weapon into a fighting stance.

=============================================================

(a/n) 

You may have noticed that the chapter is ridiculously early this week. That's cos I really got into it. Don't count on it happening often. You may also have noticed that its another long chapter. That will probably happen more and more often.

That's all I gotta say.

-Ben.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

*********

The Digidestined were appallingly outnumbered. At least a thousand Shadowmon were packed into the rooms adjoining to the Arena, and as of yet, the only people with weapons were the sword-armed digiworld troopers, Darren's hired guards, who were remaining pretty neutral, and the group that had accompanied Davis from Coast town.

Kari pulled the knives from the back of her belt, even as she ran to stand beside her lover. Their Digimon bounded in front of them.

"Do you think we can win?"

"What do you mean we?" he grinned. "All we need to do at the moment is get the Digidestined out of here!"

Kari looked at the Shadowmon, who had stopped several yards away, warily watching the golden blade in Davis's hands.

"You make it sound so easy."

"It is. Willis?"

"Got it." The blonde man replied. He pulled out a palmtop, and tapped a command into it.

A pile of rifles appeared on the ground in front of him. The troopers moved in, and picked the weapons up, levelling them at the Shadowmon. Davis looked around.

"I know you're all scared, but I'm afraid that your imprisonment has come to an end. Sorry about that."

He grinned.

"Now, Taythe, it appears that we've got a battle on our hands."

The glow of the paladin-sword seemed to intensify, and Davis sprang forward like a leopard, the sword cutting through the Shadowmon ranks like a hot knife through butter.

=============================================================

Wentela rose from her bemused state of near-unconsciousness to find herself in the middle of a living nightmare.

The arena was filled with the Shadowmon. But that didn't bother her.

It didn't even bother her that said creatures were being systematically massacred by the paladin and his allies.

What really bothered her, however, was the sight of the Digidestined flooding through the exit to the arena, down the path that Davis had cleared. She raised herself to her feet, and screeched at her guards.

"STOP THEM! DON'T LET THE PRISONERS ESCAPE!!!"

The prison guards were not the trained commandos that Darren commanded, however. They were petty criminals for the most part, drafted in off the streets, doing almost anything in return for a little power. They stared at her dumbly, and She snarling at them, she spun back to the stream of running Digidestined. Pulling her Glock from her holster, she fired a rapid series of 9mm parabellum bullets at the chosen children.

Taythe, however, was not known for her marksmanship. Even with the tightly packed Digidestined, none of the bullets found their mark. Stone chips erupted from the wall around the door as her guards finally got the message.

What they managed, however, was to attract the attention of someone whom Wentela REALLY didn't want to meet again.

One of the Digidestined commandos split away from the group, and fired his rifle up at them. The guards began dropping like flies. Wentela hastily reloaded her pistol, and grabbed a rifle.

Nick grinned a hellish grin as he began slowly walking up the stone steps of the arena towards them. His rifle bucked in his hands, and the last of the prison guard slammed into the ground, bleeding profusely. From his head.

Wentela took one look at the approaching Londoner, and ran.

=============================================================

The sword was like a bar of flame in his hands, Davis noted. The Shadowmon seemed to melt away as he struck at them, falling back beneath the onslaught.

But he was not fighting alone. Beside him, he could feel his friends throwing themselves into the fray.

Kari's twin daggers flickered like lightning as she spun. As it had been when she had kicked Wentela, she had no idea where the fighting knowledge was coming from. She slammed a foot into the face of one of the creature, and then hooked the limb around its neck. Leaping from the ground, she swung around, hurling herself into a second creature, knocking it off balance, and into the ground, taking several of its tightly packed fellows with it. The commandos swept into the gap stabbing and cutting with their swords, making sure that few of the Shadowmon would ever get to their feet again.

From the other side of the battle, Derron observed the battle with encroaching dread. Never before had he seen men fight with such fury. And this was when they were fighting a rearguard action!

He shouted at the Shadowmon, ordering them to keep pushing forward. Then he turned to Taythe.

"Head up to the bowl of the volcano. That's where you'll have to fight the paladin – this arena is too small to contain that battle."

"Yes, Derron."

She turned and ran for the gate. For some strange reason Derron Motomiya felt a pang of regret. He knew that he would never see his adopted daughter again. Whatever happened, whatever the outcome, she was unimportant to him now. But then, she had never been more than a tool.

He was so wrapped up in his contemplate, that he failed to notice the blonde man sneaking up on him. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned.

TK's right hand wrapped around the hilt of the sheathed silver katana at Derron's belt. His second bunched into a fist.

Derron reeled back from the punch, spitting blood. TK raised the Katana.

"This is mine, jackass."

Derron snarled, and drew his longsword. The two began to circle each other, as above them, the twelve dragons took to the sky, flying out through the shattered dome.

=============================================================

"Davis!" Kari called.

"Yeah?" he yelled back.

"Taythe's headed for the exit!"

"I know!"

Tai watched the exchange with a grin, and reached for his Digivice, parry the blow of a Shadowmon sword with the blade in his right hand. He pressed the activation stud.

Nothing happened.

"The hell? Davis, our Digivices aren't working!"

"It's the Oridian! It's the same stuff the black spires were made out of!" Ken yelled at him. "But it's pure! It's even more potent!"

"SHIT!"

The few Digimon who still had the ability to digivolve in this situation stepped forward. Patomon and Veemon looked up, as the Dragon's took to the skies.

"You realise that you guys wont be a match for them?" Veemon said soberly.

"I know." Patomon said. "But we might give you a clear shot."

"Gotcha." Terriermon said. "Ah, hell, I wasn't too bothered about fighting anyways."

Willis, meanwhile, was desperately tapping away at his laptop. Izzy stood close beside him, adding comments in computer Jargon that no one with a social life outside of cyberspace would be able to understand. Finally, Izzy nodded.

"Try it!"

"DIGI-ARMOUR, ENERGISE!" Willis yelled.

All of the Digimon began to glow. 

=============================================================

Davis desperately beheaded the Shadowmon in front of him, trying to reach the exit. Above him, he could see the winged forms of the twelve ancient dragons taking to the air, flying through the dome that his return had blasted to pieces. He watched as Taythe disappeared through the door that led to the side of the mountain.

"Dammit!"

From behind him, there came a familiar shout.

"ROSETTA STONE!!!"

A large slab of rock slammed past him, dangerously close, he spun, a startled look on his face as he saw Nefertimon and Flamedramon standing there.

"What? How did?"

He and Kari glanced at each other.

"WILLIS!" they shouted in Unison.

The blonde man glared at them over his laptop.

"I'm trying to work here!" he snapped. Pulling a palmtop from his side, he tossed it through the air towards the paladin.

Lunging his sword backwards under his arm into the stomach of one of his enemies, Davis reached up and plucked the device out of the air.

"It's got some new toys for Edenamon! Get going!"

Davis nodded, and spun back. Then he began to run.

The end result of that charge was as inexorable as an iceberg. The glow on the golden Katana intensified yet again, and Davis's speed seemed to reach into infinity, as he cut a swathe through the dark creature. From the edges of his vision, he saw TK and Derron circling each other, weapons in their hands. He reached out with his mind, and found Kari.

'Can you handle things here?'

To her credit, Kari didn't sound surprised at his mental contact.

'What do you think I've been doing for the past month? Get going, babe.'

He grinned, and ran through the door to the side of the mountain.

=============================================================

Nick glanced down at the floor of the mine tunnel, and grinned. He could tell that he was still on the big woman's trail – she left tracks a mile wide.

A rifle round ricocheted around the tunnels as Wentela fired wildly. He was close. He stopped, and attached something to the wall. 

A second shot sounded in the darkness of the mine, as Wentela desperately attempted to stop the implacable Englishman from coming any closer.

"Stay back! I'll kill you!"

"I sort of doubt that." Came the calm reply.

He stopped around the corner, as the big woman fired a burst. He smiled as the rounds embedded themselves in the rock opposite him. He put down his rifle, and pulled his Beretta from the holster at his hip. Holding the pistol in his right hand, he lifted the rifle in his left, and tossed it out into the shaft at head height.

Wentela fired, swiftly emptying the contents of her rifle's magazine into the roof of the corridor, and even as she pulled the trigger, Nick was diving low out onto the floor of the shaft, his Pistol extended. The silenced Beretta coughed twice.

Even as she heard the click of the firing pin on an empty chamber in her rifle, Wentela felt two punches in her legs. Without even knowing why, she collapsed to the ground.

Nick got to his feet, and walked slowly towards her. The corridor was a dead end. She had nowhere to run. She reached for the Glock in her belt, whipped it up, and pulled the trigger.

Nothing. She hadn't reloaded the weapon. Desperately, she reached for a magazine.

The Londoner's boot swept up, and knocked the gun out of her hands, sending it skittering away along the ground. He placed the barrel of his silenced Beretta against her forehead.

Wentela held her breath.

"Relax." He snarled. "I'm not going to kill you. I don't want your blood on my hands." He pressed the barrel against her skull. "You may deserve to die, Wentela, and I think that you know that. But I'm not going to give you death. I've already put you on crutches for the rest of your life, and I'm gonna be happy with that." He pulled away, and holstered the gun again. Reaching into his pouch, he tossed a water bottle and a packet of rations at her feet. "You can wait the battle out down here."

He turned and walked away.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she yelled after him. He kept walking.

He could hear her screams long after he had left the maze of corridors. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a small device. He pressed the button on its top.

The plastic detonation charge he had attached to the wall of the corridor exploded, blowing away the support struts that had held the roof up. He glanced back around the corner, and was happy to see that the corridor was completely blocked.

"Well, I let her live. I didn't promise where." He said to no one in particular.

=============================================================

"All right, that's it, retreat!" Liam yelled.

Kari nodded at him once, and drove her twin daggers into the neck of the Shadowmon in front of her. Flipping backwards, she kicked the creature up, sending it into the troops behind it.

"Where's TK?" she shouted.

"I don't know! Wait…" Liam's voice tailed off. "He's over there! He's fighting Derron!"

Kari made her decision in a single instant.

"Liam, you, the master, Mimi and Michael come with me! Make sure you've all got weapons. Everyone else get out of here!"

Liam took one look at her face, and nodded.

"Mills, Haeder, Get the Digidestined out of here!"

"Got it!" the SAS Commando called back. Haeder's response was an intensifying of the fire coming from his few remaining GSG-9 troopers. Liam and Kari charged, side by side, into the fray of the Shadowmon.

=============================================================

"ROSETTA STONE!"

"ROCK CRUSHER!"

Nefertimon and Digmon were side by side, their attacks carving through the Shadowmon with practiced ease.

"We've got to get out of here!" the flying Digimon called to her grounded companion.

"You don't have to tell me!" He replied. "Where's Flamedramon?"

"He's gone after Davis!"

"Figures!"

 The pair continued to blast at their enemies.

=============================================================

TK and Derron circled each other, their swords held in their hands. Although he was certain of his own skill as a swordsman, TK couldn't be sure of his opponent, and the fact that Derron was wearing armour was definitely gonna make things difficult.

The strike, when it came, was almost imperceptible. If it hadn't been for the slight tightening around Derron's eyes, TK would probably have died instantly. As it was, that slight change in expression gave the blonde Digidestined the chance he needed to raise his own defences. The Silver Katana leapt up and took the slash of the longsword on its edge. Sparks flew from the force of the blow, stinging the side of TK's cheek. He spun away from the blow, into a backhanded cut that hissed through the air towards Derron's midriff. The blade scored against the armour, and swung away.

The pair backed away from each other. TK grinned.

"Well, that settles that then."

And they leapt at each other, in a blast of elemental fury.

=============================================================

Kari's dagger planted itself into the head of an enemy, as she desperately tried to get through the crowd of Shadowmon to TK. Beside her, Liam ran the Knight's sword that he had received from Tetsato Dartha through several of the creatures, the long blade running through three bodies at once as he hacked at them. The Master himself stood next to his companion, jabbing his sword in neat, measured lunges, slashing the throats of the Shadowmon with casual skill and grace.

Behind them, Mimi and Michael fired their rifles in an almost continuous stream, finishing the creatures off. A third gun suddenly entered the fray, as Nick Pallet, his Beretta in his hands, entered from the door to the mines, neatly popping bullets through the heads of the Shadowmon as if he were on a firing range.

Kari felt a surge of pride. For the moment, at least, these people were her warriors, and this was a battle they could not lose. She gritted her teeth, and determined that she would not let Davis down by giving up.

=============================================================

Mills and Haeder, Meanwhile, found themselves submitting to a command. It wasn't from Kari or Davis, but it was delivered in a level tone of voice that told the two sergeants that if they valued their anatomy in its current position, they'd better obey.

"Where do we go now?" Mills asked.

Tasha gave them a level glance.

"We head down. The citadel is only so complicated, and if we follow Davis's path of destruction, we should get back to the entrance. So lets get moving."

Haeder glanced at Tai.

"Is she always like this?"

"Most of the time. She's as bad as her cousin. I think she knows what she's doing."

"Thanks Tai." The blonde girl said. Salamandramon peeked out from around her neck.

"The Shadowmon are coming."

"How do you know?"

"I can smell them."

Sure enough, The Digidestined heard a growl come from the chamber behind them. Several of the troopers casually tossed grenades into the room. When the dust from the explosions settled, the more immediate noises had faded, but they could hear more of them in the distance.

"Lets keep going." Tasha said.

"I can live with that." Mills replied, somewhat nervously.

=============================================================

The Silver Katana sparked away from the longsword once more, and TK slid the blade forward, coming in close to snarl at Derron over the crossed blades.

"You cant win, Derron, give it up!"

The only response Derron gave was to lift his knee into the Digidestined's chest, driving him backwards. TK gasped as the blow knocked him to the ground, and he struggled to get back onto all fours. 

"You kids just don't get it." Derron snarled. "All this time, you've been thinking that Taythe was your enemy. You were wrong. I'm the one with the power here."

He kicked TK in the stomach.

"I'm smarter…"

A second kick, driving the breath from the young Digidestined's body.

"I'm stronger…"

He raised the longsword, swinging it down. TK desperately began to lift his Katana to block the strike.

A huge clang sounded, as four blades blocked the Longsword at once. TK's Katana was joined by one of Kari's knives, and Liam and Dartha's broadswords.

"Yeah?" Kari said. "Well I'm prettier."

Her fist slammed upwards, and for the second time that day, Derron was knocked away by a punch to the jaw. Liam helped TK to his feet. 

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Now finish your job."

The rest of the group stepped back, as TK walked forward, his face expressionless. Kari glanced behind her, and saw that the Shadowmon had all left the hall, presumably chasing after the Digidestined.

Derron snarled at the advancing blonde man, and swung a massive two-handed blow at TK's Neck. Without even looking, the Digidestined lifted Taneka Motomiya's silver Katana, and stopped the blade Dead. Twisting, TK spin-kicked the larger man across the face, knocking him backwards against the pile of Oridian ore. He grinned.

"You really shouldn't have told me that this was all your fault."

As Derron tried to push himself away from the black metal, TK lunged for the first time in their duel.

The silver Katana slid neatly into Derron Motomiya's chest, and blood spattered across the Oridian, as he slid to the ground.

=============================================================

The door of the citadel was open. Well, the term is more 'destroyed' than open. And it was a good thing too. Tasha could hear the growls of the Shadowmon close behind them. She drew her sword, and desperately shepherded the Digidestined and troopers through the shattered door.

The rifles opened up at the far end of the corridor, and she could hear the screams of anguish as the creatures ran into the hail of bullets.

"C'mon! Let's get the hell outta here!" she yelled.

"I think they get that part, Tasha." Salamandramon muttered.

"Haeder, Run!" she heard Mills shout. 

The big German nodded in reply, and the three of them dashed towards the door. Seconds later, the Shadowmon came crashing through after them. Tasha ran for the edge of the bluff, but she was dismayed to see that there was no-one waiting for them, and the cliff was too high to get over on their own.

Haeder, Mills and Tasha turned to face their enemies. The Shadowmon were advancing slowly, stalking towards their prey.

Tasha heard a regular thumping sound. She guessed that her heart was in her ears. It sounded a little fast, but that wasn't too surprising. The adrenalin in her veins was keeping her going.

The first indication of how wrong she was came when the front ranks of the Shadowmon were suddenly blown apart. The explosion sent their shattered bodies flying up into the air, slamming them into the walls of the citadel far behind them.

Tasha spun, and saw that Mills was grinning. An insectoid shape hung in the sky, its bulbous front twisting this way and that, providing an accurate picture for the two men seated inside.

The apache Helicopter opened up with its Chaingun, spraying the Shadowmon with heavy-calibre 20mm bullets. Unlike the effect of the rifles, the creatures weren't just hurt by the rounds. they were torn apart.

Rifles began to pick up the cacophony of gunfire as the combined forces of the 22 SAS regiment, the US Delta Force and the German GSG-9 leapt over the ridge, their guns blazing.

A hand tapped on Tasha's shoulders, and she glanced up. Jun Motomiya was looking down at her from the ridge, her hand outstretched to help her up to safety.

"You looked like you needed a little help."

"It didn't come at a better time."

=============================================================

Darren looked down from the ruins of the citadel windows, and carefully safed his rifle.

He turned to the remainders of his troops. Unfortunately, the Shadowmon had been a little indiscriminate when they had picked targets.

"What do we do now, sir?" his second in command asked.

"Nothing. We leave, quickly and quietly. There's always a private war going on somewhere. How does south America sound?"

His men grinned.

"Pretty good to us, sir."

=============================================================

Davis exited the Arena, and cast his eyes around. Far up on the hilltop, Taythe was slowly climbing towards the apex of the mountain, her long cloak flowing behind her. he ran after her.

"TAYTHE!!!"

She glanced back at him, and moved into a run herself, practically flying up the mountainside in her haste. His feet carried him inexorably after her, towards the final conflict in a battle that had began generations before he had even been born.

"I write my own fate." He muttered to himself.

Taythe suddenly vanished, disappearing into the crater of the dormant volcano that the citadel rested on. Davis heard a roaring behind him, and turned. From the shattered dome atop the arena, the twelve dragons of the digital world rose into the air.

"Ignore them. They're my problem." A familiar voice sounded from beside him.

Davis turned, and looked into Flamedramon's eyes. He nodded once in silent agreement, and reached for his Digivice.

White light shone around Flamedramon, as he grew into the only form that could defeat the Shadowmon.

"FLAMEDRAMON, DIGIVOLVE TO… EDENAMON!!!!"

Davis grinned up at the huge white-armoured warrior. 

"Have fun, buddy. See you on the flip side." As he continued on up the hill, He opened the palmtop Willis had thrown him, and tapped a few commands into it.

"D-MOD TWO, ACTIVATE!"

He didn't look back to see what new toys Willis had given his Digimon. Edenamon was on his own now. They both were.

He pushed all thoughts of the Digimon battle from his mind as he dropped into the crater of the volcano. Slowly, he walked forward, and faced Taythe over a distance of Ten paces.

"Greetings, Daisuke."

"Greetings, Taythe."

He frowned slightly.

"Do we have to do the whole politeness thing? I kinda wanna get this over with."

She laughed ruefully.

"You're not the only one. How about we don't do the politeness, and say we did?"

He grinned.

"I don't think we could get away with it." He pulled the Golden Katana from its scabbard at his side, and let its tip touch the floor. "Taythe Motomiya, I challenge you to single combat, for the sake of the digital world, and all who dwell within it. I am Daisuke Motomiya, the paladin and their protector. What is your response to my challenge?"

She unsheathed her own blade, and raised it to her face.

"Daisuke Motomiya, I accept your offer of single combat. I am the Champion of the line of the dragon lords, and I will fight for their honour."

In opposite motions, they reached up and undid the buckles holding their sword scabbards to their waists. Davis then shrugged off his black leather trenchcoat, as Taythe also allowed her cloak to fall to the ground.

And the battle between the two sides of the coin began in earnest.

=============================================================

Edenamon waited on the mountainside, his new weapons planted in the ground beside him, and attached to the sides of his armour. 

Willis had clearly taken a leaf out of Paildramon's book when he had designed the upgrades for the warrior-Digimon. The two cannons that were now attached to his sides glistened in the early morning light. The two swords that were stuck in the ground behind him, however, had a strangely curved look to them. Edenamon suspect that a certain amount of Otakuism was in Willis, because why else would the blonde man have supplied him with what were virtually replicas of the Gundam Sandrock's heat Shotels? 

His thoughts were cut off as the twelve dragons halted in the air above him, their wings beating lazily to keep them in the air. The largest detached itself from the group, and swooped a little closer.

"Edenamon."

"Terras."

"Wilt thou submits? We bear thee no ill malice, but, if needs must, we will commit our duty with the utmost of our ability."

Edenamon allowed the archaic language to slip through the filtering systems of his mind. he already knew his reply, of course, but translating would give him a way to gain some time. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Terras, but I cannot accept your offer."

The dragon nodded sadly, which was no ill feat for a creature with a six-foot neck, and without warning, the twelve launched a concerted blast at the white-armoured Digimon.

But Edenamon was no longer there. High above the group, the two cannons at his side, swung up into his hands.

"BLASTER CANNON!"

A hail of energy blots slammed down through the air at the twelve. The smallest absorbed the majority of the blasts as he moved into the direct line of fire. Holes appeared in the dragon's body as he fell to the ground, and vanished.

=============================================================

Davis began walking in a circle, opposed by Taythe on the other side of the bowl. His Katana hung loosely in his hand.

"Do you really want to do this, Taythe?" he asked.

"It's what I was born to do."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know. But what I want is irrelevant."

He smiled slightly.

"Don't you ever believe that."

He felt a slight tingling in his hand, and glanced down at his sword. Even as he watched, sparks flew from the blade, and on the plain metal, the stylised image of a dragon appeared.

His eyes went wide, and he glanced up.

Taythe was already moving, her longsword swinging high over her head, a cut that would split him down the middle if it hit. The golden katana shot upwards, as he stepped to the side, and deflected the blade off to his right.

The black longsword whipped round in a backhanded cut, and he sprung back, letting the blade pass inches away from his chest. Taythe followed up, lunging at him, as he spun, letting her attack carry her past him.

=============================================================

Edenamon dropped through the air, as the sky crackled with the energy attacks of the eleven remaining dragons. The Blaster Cannons at his side fired again, scattering the ancient Digimon.

'I can't take them on together, not with that shield of theirs,' he thought, 'so I'll have to take them on separately.'

He let the cannons drop and raised the twin blades. And massive speed, he blasted towards the Dragons. The swords came up. 

It wasn't an actual strike. All the huge white-armoured Digimon did was extend his arms. The momentum however, did all the work for him. The swords slashed through the dragons like lightning, felling several in the first strike.

He spun, aiming his arms at the next target.

"BUSTER BLAST!"

Twin muzzles sprouted from his wrists, and titanic balls of energy launched out, swatting more of his enemies from the air.

=============================================================

Davis dodged another of Taythe's attacks, and cursed under his breath. He had to move off the defensive!

As Taythe swept in with another lunge, he leapt to the side, spun, and planted his booted foot firmly onto the side of Taythe's head, knocking her off balance, swinging, he slashed the golden Katana at the back of her neck.

Taythe rolled forward, out of range. She came to her feet, and Davis sprang towards her, slashing his sword up from the ground.

She parried the blow one-handed, and countered swiftly, her blade flickering at Davis's eyes.

Sparks began to fly once again from Davis's sword, as more pictures of the Dragons appeared. Taythe watched the blade with dismay, knowing that her companions were falling one by one.

Davis took advantage of the momentary hesitation, and lunged.

Taythe knocked the blade clumsily away, and leapt back, moving swiftly out of range. Her footing was off. Davis snarled his victory, and started forward into a lethal strike.

'NO!'

He heard the voice in his mind, and stopped. Keeping his eyes on Taythe, he turned his mind inwards.

'Grandmother?'

'That's not the way, Davis.'

'But I have to beat her!'

'Wrong, boy. You're here to defeat her, not to destroy her.'

He realised what she was saying, and nodded to himself. Taythe began to prepare herself for his attack.

'What do I need to do?'

'Taythe's story doesn't end in this bowl, paladin. You cant kill her.'

'Got it. Any ideas'

'You don't really need my help, dear. You've got all the skills yourself.'

He nodded, and lowered his sword, as Taythe raised her own blade. The katana hung loosely in his hands, and he looked calmly at the raven-haired girl.

=============================================================

Edenamon slammed his armoured fist into the face of one of the smaller dragons, and he felt the skull crunch under the impact. Reaching upwards, he swung one of his swords around, cutting through the body of another.

It was just he and Terras now. The largest of the dragons of the ancient digital world hovered in the air opposite him. Edenamon could feel the energy building in his opponent. He pulled his hands back, and disregarded his two swords, letting them fall with an almighty clang to the side of the volcano far beneath him. The two Blaster cannons disengaged from their positions on the side of his armour. He held his hands a little apart, and allowed his own energy to build. 

"REDEMPTIONS… EYE!!!"

The titanic blast of energy left his hands, and at the same instant, Terras slammed his head forward, and another huge beam blasted towards Edenamon. 

The twin beams met in mid air, slamming together with elemental force and chaos. Neither of the huge Digimon were prepared to back down. Both were pouring all the power at their disposal into this conflict. 

Then, a third beam joined the conflict. Nefertimon, in a release of the energy essential to her armour digivolve, poured out her power at Terras. Pegasusmon, following her lead, fired his own blast at the huge dragon.

Terras ignored their attacks, as his conflict with Edenamon continued. A golden beam of energy joined the two lighter ones piercing into the Dragon's body. Rapidmon, in his golden-armour state, fired the beam from his hands, the Digimon joining in their final conflict.

From the ground, Digmon joined the conflict, a yellow beam slamming into Terras's back.

Halsemon took over from Nefertimon as she flew up to Edenamon's side.

"We can't keep it up for much longer! You've got to hold on!"

"That's more difficult than it looks, Nefertimon! I've only got so much energy left!"

"Then take mine!"

Edenamon's eye swivelled towards her through the visor of his head armour.

"What?"

"Take my energy! Use it against Terras, like you did against Viramon!"

"I can't do that! You wont be able to defend yourself!"

"There isn't any other way, Edenamon!"

He swore virulently, 

"That does help, Edenamon." She said Primly. "IF you don't take the energy, then I'll just give it to you!"

"Alright, Dammit!"

She felt the gentle touch of his mind on hers, and then her form shrunk, and Gatomon fell to the ground. Digmon broke off his attack, and caught the exhausted cat-Digimon as she fell.

Edenamon's eyes narrowed through his visor.

"THIS IS THE END, DRAGON!!!!"

The energy that he had taken from Nefertimon flooded out through his hand, pulsing down the already huge beam. The huge globe of energy that had formed where the two beams connected absorbed the blast…

And then flew down the beam back into Terras. A titanic explosion filled the sky, flattening all of the armour Digimon against the mountainside. Edenamon hung in the sky, his white-armoured form outlined against the blast.

And then it was over. The huge Digimon lowered himself gently out of the sky, and then faded down into the familiar shape of Veemon. He walked slowly over to where digmon was cradling Gatomon, and put his clawed hand gently on the side of the cat-Digimon's face. She opened her green eyes, and stared up at him.

"Thankyou, Gatomon." He said quietly.

=============================================================

"Put up your sword." Taythe said.

"Why?"

"We have a duel to finish?"

"Why do we have to fight, Taythe?"

"Because that's all I know how to do!" she cried in anguish.

He nodded slightly.

"Then so be it. If you think you can kill me, I invite you to try."

She ran at him then, her sword swinging around in a brutal cut.

His head barely moved, yet the cut seemed to pass through him. She knew that it was impossible… nothing could be that fast!

He stared at her calmly, challenging her to try again.

She didn't give him any warning this time, but instead smoothly lunged forward, aiming to tear into his throat with her blade. His head twitched to the side, and her lunge carried on past him. He reached up, and grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.

"Taythe…" he said. "There is no further need for you to fight. You have two choices – you can carry on attacking me, or we can stop this futile fight, and live out our lives as human beings."

She spat in his face, and withdrew her sword. Backing off, she snarled at him.

"Why do you insult me with these offers? Are you such a coward that you need to try and stop the fight in order to win?"

he smiled gently.

"Taythe, I am no coward. Nor am I trying to insult you. I just don't feel the need to have any more killing, when peace is within our grasp."

"Peace?" 

She said it softly, and in that single instant, Davis knew he had won. He could see it in her eyes, the final crash as the shields she had drawn around her soul fell away. she felt it too.

"NO!!"

with that final scream, she ran at him, her sword drawn back. at the last possible instant, she lunged forward, aiming for his heart. 

The black longsword never found its mark. As her momentum carried her forward, Davis stepped aside. The straight blade ran straight into the wall of the volcano, and stuck there. Desperately, she tried to pull the blade out. Davis spun, raised his Katana, and brought it down in a massive cut.

Taythe closed her eyes as the golden blade came down.

=============================================================

Kari looked up, as time seemed to Flash, the world slowing down until she could hear the giant 'tick' as the universe moved from one second to the next. She could feel something.

"Davis… no!"

and the world froze

=============================================================

Out on the bluff, the Helicopter seemed to hang in the air as the flash moved past them, and Jun swore under her breath, and gripped Tai's hand tightly. Her hand locked in that position

=============================================================

The sword was still in the air as the two figures watched the completely still forms of Daisuke Motomiya and Taythe Motomiya in the no-time between the moment in which one second passed through to the next.

"He has not killed her." one of the figures asserted. "It is not a victory."

"Death is an absolute, and there are no absolutes in this contest. He has, however, defeated her. My champion claims victory. It is over."

The first figure snarled.

"No! It is not over!"

And he vanished. The second figure sighed.

"He's always so SULKY when I win."

And then he too vanished. 

The moment passed.

=============================================================

Taythe felt a huge shot run up her arms, and opened her eyes. To her great surprise, and for some reason, minor disappointment, she was still alive. She looked down at her hands.

Davis sheathed the Katana as Taythe dropped the hilt of the longsword. The blade, however, remained lodged in the wall, severed neatly at its base by the huge strike.

"Why…?"

"Why didn't I kill you?"

She looked at him, with a kind of appeal in her eyes.

"I didn't see the need to, Taythe. You may have hurt me, but that's a part of life. I've been hurt before." He thought for a second. "I've never had a scar running across my chest, but I've been hurt before. You've never experienced that feeling."

He turned away, and looked up at the rim of the bowl of the volcano. Taythe stared down at the hilt in her hands, and let it drop to the ground. When it hit, it shattered like glass, and the two dark crests fell into the dust. Davis knelt, and scooped them up, placing them in his pocket.

"You see, Taythe, I don't need to kill you. It's not my choice to make. Its yours." He looked sidelong at her. " So I'm giving you the choice. You can stay the way you are, and keep your soul cooped up like a bird in a cage…" he extended his hand. "Or you can choose life, and let it, and yourself, fly free. Your choice."

She hesitated. He could see the silent battle waging within her, as it had done within him. He could have killed her with that strike, and removed one of the greatest threats to the digital world he had ever encountered. 

But that would have made him worse than Derron. He had realised that he had not come here to destroy Taythe, or even to really defeat her. He had come here to save her.

The battle within Taythe's heart reached its conclusion, and slowly, quietly, she reached her hand up, and placed it in his.

"I choose life."

She fell to her knees, her forehead knotted in pain. Even as he watched, something seemed to leap out of her, something black and evil. It span away into the air above the digital world.

"Are you okay, Taythe?" he asked.

"I'm… fine. But my name… it isn't right. Its not real."

She looked up into his earnest, smiling face, and remembered another smile, the smile on the face of her mother, the scent of blossoms in the summer breeze, and a name that had been whispered to her, even as she giggled in innocence.

"My name… isn't Taythe. I'm… Kayoko."

"Kayoko Motomiya. Sounds fine to me."

She gave him a look at the surname.

"Hey, you're my little sister now, you get that? And brother and sister usually have the same name." He stood, and pulled her up. "So come on, little sister. Lets get outta here."

=============================================================

(A/N)

NEVER AGAIN.

I've been writing this chapter since Sunday night. I have finished it Thursday night. I have been going to school in the meantime. This chapter is six and a half thousand words long. I am NEVER going to write a chapter this long again. Well, I might. It depends on how I feel.   
  


So, this is NOT the last chapter. Don't start posting your final reviews yet. The next one will be a DAMN SIGHT shorter, though.

-Ben.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

*********

They walked slowly through the door to the arena, side by side. Kari turned round, and looked at them, surprise apparent on her face as she took in the raven-haired girl who stood almost fearfully behind Davis. TK blinked a couple of times.

"Erm… Am I missing something here?"

"Yeah… as per usual." Davis jibed. 

TK glared at him.

"Bite me, Motomiya. Care to enlighten me?"

"In a minute. But first, I'd like you all to meet Kayoko."

He stepped aside, and allowed Taythe to step forward. Liam looked around.

"I think TK's not the only one who's missing something? Isn't that Taythe."

Dartha gave the raven-haired girl a shrewd look.

"Not anymore, it seems." He grinned. "I can't sense the dark spirit in her at all. She's just a regular kid now."

"Oh, so that's alright then." Mimi said with vast insincerity. "Why don't we just all forget the events of the past month, huh? Let's all just be friends."

"Mimi…" Kari said. "Shut up."

"Kari!"

"Kayoko wasn't the one who did those things to us. Neither was Taythe. It was all Wentela and Derron." She stopped. "Where is Wentela anyway?"

Nick coughed.

"She's managing the mine. When I last saw her, she was setting up shop in one of the tunnels."

"How long do you think she'll be down there?"

"Well, I'd have to hazard a guess along the lines of 'forever' actually."

"Oh. Good."

"I thought you'd appreciate it."

Kayoko looked back between them. Despite the banter, she could see that they were wary of her, and Mimi's face was bordering on Open hostilities.

"Can I…"

They looked at her, and she faltered. Davis placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go ahead, Kayoko. Don't worry."

"Easy for you to say."

Kari stepped forward, and stood next to them.

"It's okay. Say what you have to, Kayoko."

The raven-haired girl looked up at her, and gave a slight smile.

=============================================================

"I was born a fairly long time ago. I don't know how long, but I can remember my mothers face. I can still remember the way she smelt as she hugged me at nights. I remember feeling safe. I can't really remember my father, but I know that he loved me as well. He seemed so tall, and whenever he picked me up, I was so scared of falling that I used to cling to his shirt in fear.

Then, one day, I came downstairs, and my mother wasn't there. I could smell a strange smell. I didn't know it at the time, but now that I think back to it, I know exactly what it was. It was the smell of blood. I didn't know that my parents were dead.

There was a strange man sitting in the living room. He told me that his name was Derron, and he was going to be my new father. For some reason, I believed him, and immediately, I went to hug him. I liked hugs then.

He pushed me away, and I can remember crying as I hit the floor. No-one had ever hurt me before, and I didn't know how to deal with it."

The Digidestined watched the Raven-haired girl as she told her story. Even Mimi's hostility had dropped away, replaced by a look of horror as she listened to Kayoko's tale.

"He told me that I couldn't do things like that anymore. I couldn't hug people, or get close to them. He took me away from my home, and took me to this place, the citadel of the dragon-lords. I only had one friend when I was young, and that was the nurse who took care of me. Then, one day, she disappeared. I don't know why.

She stopped, and looked at Derron's body, lying against the pile of Oridian.

"Then again, maybe I do. After that, I couldn't afford to make any attachments. The most important person in my life was Derron. Then, when I was thirteen, he took me into this arena, and sat me in the centre. He did some weird ritual, and I could feel some kind of power enter my mind and soul. I was repulsed by it, but part of me liked having something of my own. Derron stopped calling me Kayoko then, and started calling me Taythe instead. God, how I grew to hate that name! I hated the endless hours of training, the rituals and the speeches he used to give me… telling me I was the instrument of his destiny, the tool of his power. I hated him. But he was all I had."

Kari's arm reached up, and placed itself around the girl's shoulders. Kayoko leant against her, taking some small measure of comfort from the proximity of someone who cared about her, even just a little.

"Little by little, the hate took me over. It was the only emotion I allowed myself to feel, the only one that was safe. I trained with that longsword until I was strong, keeping my hatred to myself, letting him think I was so devoted to him that I would do whatever he said.

And then, years, we felt the presence of two descendants of Ichiro Motomiya in the world. I felt the other presence that cohabited my mind gloat as it planned his fate. It and Derron came up with the idea of using him to re-ignite the war of the Dragon lords where it had taken off. They decided to use this descendant of Ichiro to free the Shadowmon from their sire's imprisonment."

"Paul." Davis said quietly. She nodded slightly.

"The mind within my mind sent part of itself to take him over. They made him kill the other descendant who was with him. Your father, Davis."

He nodded, and smiled slightly.

"I knew it wasn't his own fault"

She smiled at him as well.

"He couldn't help it. And then you appeared, with the paladin sword in your hands and the Digidestined in Paul's control. You strode through the world like a Tornado, and nothing stood in your way. For a while, the presence in my mind seemed almost scared, and I thought it might have given up and set me free.

But then it came back, stronger than ever, and part of me was screaming as it forced me back down into the recesses of my soul. I could see everything it did, but I couldn't stop myself. It used my body as a weapon, and the worst thing was that Derron was perfectly happy with that. For him, I was nothing more than a tool.

It was then that we began to move abroad in the world. First, I went to the ruins of the tower that Paul had used to open the permanent Digiports, and retrieved the dark crests from where they had fallen. I slotted them into my sword, and it turned black, pure black. For the first time, I heard the stir of the dark ocean, and it scared the part of me that was still my own. That sword had been one of the few things I possessed, and it wasn't even mine anymore. I was a warrior, and my weapon had been taken from me."

She stopped, and smiled slightly.

"You all know what happened next."

Mimi smiled too.

"I'm sorry, Kayoko. I didn't understand."

"That's okay. I'm a very misunderstood person." She laughed.

Liam stood, and stretched.

"Y'know, much as I'm lovin' the atmosphere of this place, I really think we should get out of here."

Davis stood.

"I think you could be right."

"Good, because I'd have shot you if you'd said no."

A hissing voice cut over them.

"Don't go yet, paladin, the funs just beginning…"

=============================================================

The dark spirit had soared up into the sky after it had been expelled from Kayoko's soul, flying in search of a host to continue its plans. It refused to accept that it had lost! The Paladin had not even killed his champion, instead he had shown mercy! That had to be a loss!

In its very nature the dark spirit could not understand the concept of mercy. It could not see the point of allowing ones enemies to live. All would be trampled over in its single-minded course of ambition.

It had hovered above the arena, searching the minds within for the elements it required. It could not go back to Kayoko, not once she had expelled it, and the paladin, obviously, was out of the question.

It found what it required, and dove, pouring its essence into the vehicle it had chosen.

=============================================================

Derron's body rose shakily from the ground, pulling its longsword after it. It's eyes were covered in a black sheen.

"Liam!" Davis shouted. "Get them outta here!"

"What, and let them miss the party?" Derron hissed.

He waved his hand, and a wall of blackness closed off the arena doors, sealing them in together.

Davis drew his Katana, as Derron stepped forward. The paladin took a single pace towards his enemy…

And found himself flung back by a blast of force, slamming into the wall at the side of the Arena. Derron ignored him, and instead looked to Kayoko.

"Well, Daughter? Will you join me for the final battle?"

The Raven-haired girl closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were filled with cold disdain.

"I am not your daughter, Derron. You killed my parents, remember? Neither am I the tool of the dark spirit any longer."

"You are wrong! The darkness is in you now! You will never be free with it!"

She shrugged.

"A little bit of it is in everyone. But I can learn to live with it, like they do."

The possessed body of Derron narrowed its eyes.

"And who will help you 'Live with it,' Taythe? Who will help you through the times when the desire to be evil is almost overwhelming? Who will stand by your side when you're feeling lost and alone? You are MY daughter, Taythe, and Mine to do with as I wish! Who will help you now?"

A blast of golden light slammed into Derron, knocking him clear across the room. Davis got to his feet, his hand outstretched his eyes glowed a deep gold, their inner energy sparkling.

"I will."

=============================================================

Veemon could feel the discharges of energy inside the Arena, and he desperately hammered on the black wall that barred his path, trying to get in.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice asked.

The small blue Digimon turned, and looked up at Jun Motomiya. Tai stood a little ways behind the frizzy-haired girl, a sword I his hand.

"Where did you guys come from?" he asked.

"We just finished cleaning up after the battle. The Shadowmon aren't going to be a problem anymore.

Gatomon sniffed.

"That would explain the smell."

Veemon sniggered, then stopped as the sour odour of battle hit his nose.

"I see what you mean."

"Thanks, guys, thanks a lot. Now would you mind explaining what the hell is going on?"

Veemon sighed.

"Davis beat Taythe. Turns out, she was possessed by the dark spirit as well, to an extent, and she isn't called Taythe anymore. Her real name is Kayoko. Then Derron woke up, after TK had stabbed him through the chest with that silver sword of his, and put up this force field. That about covers it. I cant tell what's going on anymore, because my Link to Davis has been cut off."

He debated over whether to tell Jun about Davis's family decision. Finally, he decided to do the right thing.

"Erm… Davis has decided to adopt Kayoko as his little sister."

Jun gave him a hard look. Then shrugged.

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"I said okay."

"But…"

"Look, I know it doesn't always seem like it, but I trust Davis. In his brain, the standard debate is what's right versus what's smart, and sure as hell, smart doesn't stand a chance. If he thinks that this is the right thing to do, then it's the right thing to do."

Veemon stared at her.

"But I…"

"Veemon, much as I'd love to discuss comparative moralities with you, we've got more important things to do."

=============================================================

The golden Katana flashed as Davis moved his hands into a ready position.

"Get away from my friends."

"And why would I want to do that, Paladin?"

"Because I don't think you have any desire to be split up the middle."

"Why worry about something that wont happen?"

Davis held out his hand, and a new energy ball formed there.

"Last chance."

"Go ahead."

Davis let the blast fly at his enemy. It splashed over a shield of blackness that sprung up in front of Derron.

"Nice try…"

But Davis was already moving. Even as the possessed body fired its own energy blast back at him, he was running forward, sailing through the air, and lashing his foot around in a vicious kick.

Derron raised his forearm, and blocked the blow. Davis landed, catlike on his feet, and dodged nimbly out of the way as the longsword cut at him. Even as he landed, however, Derron moved forward, and clasped his hand around the paladins throat, lifting him from the ground.

"Is this how you'll do it, Paladin? Will you face me alone?"

Davis tried to gasp a reply, his windpipe clasped shut by the other mans hand.

A dagger buried itself in Derron arm, and the possessed body dropped him with a yell of pain. Kari pulled her hand back from its throwing position.

"He's never alone!" she snarled.

Derron snarled, and kicked Davis solidly in the stomach, with the extra strength the dark spirit was providing him, the kick sent him flying halfway across the room.

TK moved in, his silver Katana flickering towards Derron's eyes, wickedly fast. Derron parried the blow, and his counter attack swiftly caught the younger man across the cheek in a glancing blow. The blonde man whipped his katana across Derron's legs, and the other man grunted in pain, before slamming the hilt of his sword into the digidestined's belly.

Davis struggled to get to his feet, and could only watch as Nick emptied his Beretta at the possessed body, only to have the bullets stopped in mid-air by that powerful shield. The Londoner swore, and through himself to the ground and Derron sent an energy blast in his direction.

Liam and Dartha moved in together, the knights of both the past and the present working in Unison, their twin broadswords lashed in from opposite sides, and Derron was forced to retreat from that concerted attack, his own longsword desperately parrying the blows.

For a moment, Davis hoped that the two might actually do it, their warrior skills shining through in the face of Derron's more formal swordsmanship. 

But then the Dark spirit asserted itself, and Liam was blasted back by a bolt of energy. Dartha turned to watch his friend for a single heartbeat…

But it was enough. Derron seized him, and sliced his sword across the back of his legs, crippling him. Dartha Fell to his knees, a slightly bewildered look crossing his face as his legs fell from under him.

Then Derron plunged his sword forward.

"NO!" Davis cried, loss wrenching his voice.

The point of the longsword emerged from Tetsato Dartha's chest, and the broadsword dropped from suddenly nerveless figures. With the last of his strength, he looked up at Davis.

"…Win…Paladin…"

Derron whipped the blade backwards, and Tetsato fell forward onto the floor, a pool of blood spreading from his body.

Davis felt hot anger rip through him, and he stood, his fingers clasped about the hilt of his katana. He raised the weapon one handed, and charged at Derron.

A silver katana came flying through the air as TK tossed his weapon to his friend. Davis caught the weapon in mid stride, and continued his run. The two swords came up, and slashed down in unison, slamming against the blade of the longsword in Derron's hand. The older man was sent staggering back by the impact, and barely had time to recover as Davis began swinging the two curved swords in single strikes, at the left and right of his enemies body. Derron began to fall back once more, until his body was pressed against the pile of Oridian for the second time that day. Davis saw his opening, as the body possessed by the dark spirit tried to desperately counter attack. He raised TK's sword in his left hand, and allowed his enemies own arm to do all the work for him.

The silver blade cut through Derron's wrist like a knife through butter, severing the hand from the body. The dark spirit screamed in pain, and unleashed a wave of force that pushed Davis back and away. The black-tinted bubble that surrounded Derron pulsed, and the Oridian ore pulsed along with it, seeming to grow and then fade as if a shadow fell on it. Davis hacked futilely at the barrier with his sword, the golden blade bouncing off with a bell-like clang.

TK put his hand on his friends shoulder. Davis spun on him, his sword half raised, and TK punched him in the jaw.

Davis's head snapped back, and when he looked back at his blonde friend, his eyes were calmer.

"Thanks."

"Any time."

They looked calmly through the barrier at Derron.

"We're gonna have to get in there, you know." TK said.

"Figures."

"Just one thing, bud." TK said. "Don't let what he did to The Master take you down to his level."

"I know TK. I'll do what I have to do, though."

"I know it."

Davis felt a surge of power within him. He silently cast the question into the depths of his soul.

'Are you doing this?'

'No. Its all coming from you.' Ichiro replied. 'I figured it was time to release all the restraints on you. The dark spirit isn't playing by the rules, so we can relax a bit too.'

'Gotcha.'

He glanced at TK.

"On three."

They waited.

"THREE!!!"

The pair drove their blades forward, slamming them point first into the wall of dark force. Energy crackled from the swords, as the power that they wielded fed itself through the curved blades.

A broadsword, its hilt anointed with Silver, joined the two Katanas as Liam drove a two-handed lunge into the force field, aiding his friends.

Two rifle barrels Joined the swords, and began firing single shots. Davis looked to his left, and saw that Mimi, her face gritted in concentration, was pulling the trigger with a kind of desperate fanaticism. 

Nick's Beretta joined the fray, his arm extending past them into the small point they were all focusing on. Kari's daggers followed, as she stood shoulder to shoulder with her boyfriend.

"You have to finish this, Davis!" She yelled.

"Why me?"

"You're the only one who can!" she smiled grimly.

TK grinned across at her.

"I'm going with him. Don't worry."

"We're not going anywhere at the moment!" Liam snarled.

"You will now!" a new voice said.

Kayoko, her face snarling, drove the broadsword that Tetsato Dartha had dropped into the point of attack.

The force-field buckled… then split, leaving a portal just wide enough for TK and Davis to get through.

"Go!" Liam yelled.

They didn't need telling twice. The two warriors dashed forward, their blades swinging in perfect symmetry as, for the first time, fear crossed the face of the possessed body of Derron Motomiya. He desperately raised his arms, the bloody stump of his right hand glistening as he vainly tried to ward off the impending attacks.

It was futility in the extreme. The two blades, one gold, one silver, slammed into the sides of Derron's neck. The blades seemed to merge for a single second… then passed by each other. Derron fell to the floor. His head followed. As they watched, the black film vanished from the corpses eyes, as the dark spirit finally left the digital world.

The black force field vanished. As Davis watched, the dark mists blocking the exits to the arena also dispersed. He dropped his Katana to the floor, as weariness overtook him. Dimly, he was aware of Kari closing her arms around, him, and pulling him to her, gently resting his head in her shoulder. Vaguely, he saw Tasha doing the same to TK. Mistily, he saw Jun kneel beside the body of Tetsato Dartha, and close his eyes.

"It's over." Kari said.

"Not quite." Came a different voice.

Gennai was standing over them, and next to him, the young girl, Dayla. The little girls eyes were filled with tears, and wordlessly, Kari stood and embraced her. Davis got shakily to his feet.

"What is there left to do?" he asked, brushing off the front of his sleeveless shirt.

Gennai looked up at the pile of black ore.

"The Oridian gives the dark spirit a foothold on this world. This is the last of the pure ore on the entire world, and without it, the spirit can never come back here."

"Lemme guess. Its my job to destroy it."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. Its what I'm good at, I guess."

"Of course you are, Davis." Tetsato said.

Davis stared at the hazy apparition that had appeared next to him.

"Oh, don't do that." The figure snapped irritably. "I don't have the time to explain, but you have to use the power within you to destroy the Oridian. Does that make sense, or has death made me a little abstract?"

"It makes sense. Thankyou, master."

Davis turned to face the huge pile of Ore. Reaching inside his pouch, he took out the two dark crests and tossed them onto the pile. Then he took a step back, and raised his hands.

"Everyone get back." he said.

The Oridian ore began to glow. Dimly at first, but then a golden light spread around the pile. Finally the light blasted upwards, and the rock faded to nothing, leaving not a single trace it had ever existed.

"Showoff." Jun muttered.

"He's so powerful!" Kayoko said.

"Maybe," Jun replied. "But he's still my brother. I'm allowed to insult him." She thought for a second. "OUR brother, now." She said decisively.

Kayoko looked at her with a startle expression, and then began to cry. Jun hugged the younger girl.

"C'mon, little sister. No time for that. We've got work to do."

"Huh?"

"We've got to patch up the wounded. I get the drift you want to make amends. Well, helping to heal people is the best thing for that." 

"Yes, Jun."

"And don't be so submissive."

"Yes Jun."

Jun sighed. She'd have to work with this one.

"So what now?" Davis asked The Master's spirit.

"Well, You're the one with the power. You decided."

Davis looked down at his hands.

"I don't think I'll use it like that again." He sighed. "I don't think I can keep this power, Master. It's too great for one guy to handle, and I don't think I could have any kind of normal life with this sort of ability."

Tetsato grinned.

"Good man yourself. I'll tell you what – The power will always be there. It's a part of you. But if you do this…" a series of images flashed in Davis's mind "then you can lock it away until you need it. Does that help at all?"

"Very much, thankyou, master."

"Welcome. But before you do that…" he glanced at Kari. "Don't you need to asked her something?"

Davis blushed.

"I'd almost forgotten."

"That would be a VERY bad idea."

"Tell me about it."

Davis glanced down at his hand, and focused his mind. When he was finished, a golden ring lay in his palm.

'not bad at all.' A new voice said in the recesses of his mind.

Davis jumped.

'Oh, don't do that. Its not that bad. I've come to offer you a choice, Daisuke.'

'oh?'

'How much do you want to keep your power?'

'I don't. That was the point.'

'I can take it away from you, if you want. Well, a measure of it, anyway. I'd live you enough to get by on'

Davis laughed silently.

'I can live with that.'

'Just one thing – if you ever need it again, just ask, you got me?'

'Sure.'

Davis felt a surge, and knew that the huge power had, for the moment at least, left his body. He sighed a sigh of relief.

'Heh. I'll see you around, kid.' The voice said.

And then it was gone. Davis looked at Tetsato. The spirit was grinning.

"Well, that shitcans my idea."

Davis grinned sadly.

"You cant stay much longer, can you?"

"I'm afraid not. don't worry, I don't mind being dead. It means I don't have to clear my desk back at the Forge." He looked down at the ground, his eyes thoughtful. "I don't think its appropriate for my people to live there any more. It isn't even necessary. Dayla."

The little girl, startled by the voice, looked out from behind Kari.

"Oh, don't be scared. Its just me."

"But master, you were ALWAYS scary."

The spirit rolled its eyes.

"Thankyou. Thankyou very much. Now, if you're through insulting me, I've got a job for you."

The little girls tear-streaked face lifted bravely.

"Anything, Master."

"Good. You're in charge at home now. You're the only other one who can reach the prophecy, so you'll have to lead our people. I want you to help them get out of the Forge. The caves have served their purpose, and now its time for us to rejoin the world."

Dayla nodded.

"Yes, Master."

"Good girl."

The spirit turned back to Davis.

"Now, I'm gonna have to go. Don't leave that thing we discussed too long."

He held out his near-transparent hand, and Davis clasped it briefly. Then the shade faded away and vanished. The paladin had tears in his eyes as he turned back to his friends.

"Well, Dayla, when do you want to get started?"

"Soon. And I don't want to leave him resting in this place."

Davis nodded, and walked over to where Jun and Kayoko were standing over Dartha's body. Wordlessly, understandingly, Kayoko held out the broadsword she had picked up. Davis nodded his thanks, and, taking the weapon, he laid it on Dartha's chest, and folded the Master's hands across it. Liam, Nick and Michael came over wordlessly. without saying anything, the four men picked up the body between them, holding it over their shoulders.

They carried the brave man from the arena, and Gennai gently closed the door behind them as they all left.

=============================================================

Coast town was a complete mess. Davis beheld the destruction that the Shadowmon had caused with a kind of weary regret. It had been necessary, he understood that now, but still he could not wipe away the thought of those people from his mind. he sighed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kari said.

"I don't known them myself." He replied. "I've done what I promised to do by avenging the people who died here, and you know what?"

"What?" 

"It still hasn't bought them back."

She slipped her hand into his, as they watched the special forces of three nations march into the town. At the head of the group was a small, battered batch of men, their weapons dirty, and their faces bruised and cut. The digital world troopers. It reminded Davis that he now had to make a decision – one of the most important he would ever make. He glanced across at his girlfriend. Make that TWO decisions. Well, one of them he could deal with right now.

"Kari?"

"Yeah?"

"We need to talk."

She gave him a look. It wasn't a threatening look. If anything it was only mildly curious. But it filled him with fear. He reached into his pocket, and found the ring.

"I love you Kari. You do know that, right?"

"Of course I do, Davis."

Right. Good. Nice way to start.

"So, erm… Well."

He stopped, and took a deep breath.

"Kari, if I still had the power, I would do anything you asked me. I would stop the sun, the moon and the stars for you. I would drain the oceans if you wanted to." He stopped. "I think I could still do that one actually." He admitted. 

She laughed.

"Davis, where are you going with this?"

he grinned.

"Gimme a break. I'm not that good at making speeches."

"Then don't bother. There's no one here to make them to, anyway."

He looked at her, his heart in his eyes.

"Yes there is. The one who counts."

She stared at him, then blushed.

From a few metres away, Veemon and Gatomon watched the pair. Gatomon looked at her companion.

"What are they doing, Veemon?" she asked.

The blue Digimon looked at her, and winked slyly. She glared.

"Just watch, dear. All shall be revealed" he looked her up and down. "well, not quite all." He smirked.

Gatomon actually turned red at that. Then they heard someone sneaking up behind them, on the steps. 

TK, Tasha, Jun, Tai and Liam were crouched at the top of the stairs, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

"Has he done it yet?" TK hissed.

"Done what???" Gatomon asked archly.

TK just grinned. Gatomon sighed.

"I'm surrounded by morons."

Away from the exchange, Davis was still looking deep into Kari's eyes. She stared back up at him.

"Just say what you feel, Davis."

He deliberated about it, and then grinned.

"Ok."

"Ok?

"Yeah, ok."  He smiled broadly.

"Kari, I love you more than anything." He dropped to his knee, and fished out the ring from his pocket. "Will you marry me?"

She stared at the ring in silence, her mouth open. A slight gasp escaped Gatomon. The people on the step held their breath.

Then She nodded, once. A huge smile lit her face, and tears began to appear in her eyes. Davis came to his feet fast, and pressed his lips against hers. Even as the group on the step began cheering, he raised her hand, and gently slipped the engagement ring onto her finger.

Gatomon glared at Veemon.

"You knew?"

"Of course."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I thought you'd like the surprise."

Kari and Davis finally separated. They looked across at their friends.

"Y'know, I really didn't need an audience for this." Davis complained.

Kari smiled at him.

"You did just fine."

Liam coughed.

"I hate to break this short, but you've got a meeting to go to."

"They're here?"

"'Fraid so."

He sighed.

"Let's get it over with."

"You know what you've got to do?"

"Yeah. They wont like it, but I'll do it anyway."

=============================================================

PRESS ARTICLE, THE TIMES, 2013:

Daisuke Motomiya, the current representative of the digital world, announced today that he would be closing the portals between our world and the digital world. In this bold move, Mr Motomiya, (20) is effectively cutting off all communications between the digital world and our own.

"The digital world is for everyone" Mr Motomiya is quoted as saying. "But not yet. The portals that were opened last year have opened up all sorts of problems for the society, and I'm afraid that I cannot allow those problems to remain. Eventually, everyone in the world will gain their own Digimon, but until the point, the gateways will remain closed. This is as much for the safety of the Earth as it is for the digiworld. Trust me on this one."

In response to allegations that he is using the digiworld to gain power himself, Mr Motomiya gave this reply.

"I have no intent to use the digital world for my own gain. I never wanted to be in this position, but I will do what I have to do in order to ensure our safety, and the safety of the Digimon and the people who live permanently in the digiworld. Although I thank the nations of the world for their aid in defeating the Shadowmon menace, the world will survive without the resources that the digiworld can offer."

It is reported that several industrial conglomerates have, unsuccessfully, attempted to enter the digital world since the announcement. One person has been recorded as saying that "the howls of anger could be heard for miles." The source of this quote does not agree with the mining of the digital world.

=============================================================


	22. Epilogue

EPILOGUE:

**********

"She's too skinny. What have you been feeding her?" Mrs Motomiya said critically.

"I wasn't exactly in control of her diet, mom." Davis replied.

Kayoko looked between the pair, and then at Jun. The older girl winked at her. Kayoko figured that this was an ongoing relationship between the two. Mrs Motomiya sighed.

"Never leave Davis to do anything important."

"Hey!"

"Are you still here?"

Davis glared at her, but kept quiet. Mrs Motomiya smirked, and turned to Kayoko.

"Well, I suppose someone's got to take care of you. You can have Davis's old room. It's filled with crap at the moment…"

"That's all my stuff!" Davis said.

"Tell it to someone who cares. But since Davis is in his own place now, it'll just be us girls."

"Is it always like this here?" Kayoko asked.

"Yes." Davis and Jun said in Unison.

Mrs Motomiya laughed.

"Don't worry kid. I'll be nice to you. For a while at least."

Kayoko grinned, and then blushed.

"What's the matter?"

"I've… never had a family before."

"Well, you've got one now. You'll probably regret it, but you've got one."

She glanced at Davis.

"You'll stay for lunch."

"I cant…"

"It wasn't a request."

Davis sighed.

"Yes, mom."

=============================================================

Liam looked with distaste at the countertop of the bar. A thin layer of dust covered everything, and he was NOT liking the amount of cleaning he was going to have to do before he could open again. He already had the drinks on order, but before he could even do anything the bar would have to be able to pass a health inspection.

He sighed, and pulled a bottle of whisky down from the shelf. He checked the brand, and grinned. Pouring the liquor into a glass, he raised it to the light, watching as the golden liquid glowed.

"You got another one of those?" Nick said.

Liam glanced at him.

"Sure. Sit ye down."

The Londoner sat on the opposite side of the bar, pulling up one of the tall stools.

"So what are you going to do now?" the Irishman asked.

"I dunno."

"You wanna job?"

Nick looked up.

"Doing what?"

"Bar work."

"…Free drinks?"

"Hell yeah."

"I'm in."

The bell over the door rang, and the pair turned.

=============================================================

Davis pushed himself back from the table.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I've really got to go."

"What's the rush?"

"I'm helping Kari move all her things into my apartment."

Mrs Motomiya gave him a level look, and he blushed.

"Erm… we're engaged, Mom."

"Good. What took you so long?"

"Mom!"

"Davis, you've been in love with the girl for years. I could see it, everyone else could see it, apparently, and only you and her were so dumb that you missed it." She grinned. "Congratulations, son. Your dad would be proud."

"Thanks, Mom."

He grinned at Kayoko and Jun.

"I'll see you later. Sorry to leave you with this overbearing maniac."

Jun smiled. 

"I've been living with her for years."

Kayoko also grinned.

"I think I'll be alright."

"I know. Oh, before I forget…"

Davis pulled out a Digivice, and handed it to her. Kayoko looked at it in confusion.

"But… I'm not…"

"Yes you are."

A small portal shimmered in the air, and a small lizard dropped out into Kayoko's lap.

"Hi. I'm Scrymon."

"I'm… Kayoko."

"Cool."

She laughed. Davis grinned.

"Well, I'm outta here. Catch ya later, mom."

"See you, Davis. Don't forget to call me occasionally."

"Do I ever?"

"No. Its more than your life's worth."

Davis was smiling as he walked out the door.

=============================================================

Mimi stood in front of Michael, and looked up at him.

"So, what do you say?" he said.

Go back to America. With Michael. What did she have to lose?

But she knew. She couldn't go with him.

"I'm sorry, Michael."

His face fell.

"I know that you care about me, but I can't go with you… because I'd be lying to myself."

He grinned slightly.

"Is it him?"

She nodded.

"He's a lucky guy."

She laughed.

"He'd better appreciate it."

"He will. I know that. I think you may be doing the right thing, Mimi."

"Thankyou."

He grinned. 

"Hey, I'm just a dumb blonde Yankee, remember. God bless the USA, and all that bullshit. But I'm not blind, and he's got feelings for you that I could never have." The smile softened. "Goodbye, Mimi Tachikawa."

"Goodbye, Michael."

He turned and began to walk away. She watched his back for a couple of seconds, and then walked away herself, smiling. She was still smiling when she pushed through the door to the bar.

Nick and Liam looked at her in surprise, their whisky's forgotten.

Nick was the first to move.

"I'll…erm… go check out the kitchen or something."

Before the Irishman could object, Nick had gone through the doors behind him. Liam turned back to the pink-haired girl. Mimi smiled.

"I've made my choice."

"Mimi, I told you that…"

She took two steps forward, and kissed the big Irishman on the mouth. Finally, they broke apart.

"Liam, shut up."

"Yes, Ma'am."

=============================================================

Davis picked up the box, and scooped a handful of Football magazines into it. He sighed.

"Some of this mess is old friends, you know."

"Keep tidying." Kari said.

TK grinned at the pair.

"You are SO whipped, man."

"I know. And I don't mind in the least."

The blonde man glanced at his own girlfriend.

"Do you agree with this?"

"I think it's very romantic."

Kari glowed. TK sighed.

"I'm the only realist here, aren't I?"

"Shut up, TK." Tasha said absently.

"Yes, dear."

Kari pushed another batch of magazines into the box Davis held, and dusted her hands off.

"I think I'm gonna like it here."

He smiled back at her.

"I was hoping you might."

She leant forward, and kissed him. TK and Tasha glanced at each other.

"Ah, do you need anymore help?" TK said.

"I don't think so. We've done most of it." Kari replied absently.

"Then We'll get outta here, and leave you two alone."

"Thanks."

TK and Tasha shared a grin as they left.

"I think we can effectively say, that they're gonna be alright."

"I think so."

Back in the apartment, Davis wrapped his arms around Kari's waist. 

"I love you, Hikari Kamiya."

"I love you too, Daisuke Motomiya."

"So, shall we eat, or shall we…erm… do something else first."

"Something else sounds nice."

Both Gatomon and Veemon grinned at each other as the two Digidestined headed for the bedroom.

"Well, that's going well."

"Yup."

Gatomon, smiling to herself, curled up into a ball, and went to sleep, as Veemon went to find something to eat.

THE END.

=============================================================================

(a/n)

all the real A/n's are in the thankyou chapter. Lol.


	23. Thankyous

THE CHILDREN OF FATE:

Final Authors notes, and Thankyous.

****************************

Hey, Ya'll. Its been a long haul, hasn't it. Hopefully it wasn't to disappointing. ^^

I never meant to write something this long. Seriously. TCOF was only originally gonna be 15 chapters. But like some things do, it began to get out of control. I'm sure that some of you noticed that way the chapters started getting Looonger towards the end there. ^^

There were some pretty obvious references in this fic. David Eddings was the big one, and a lot of you picked up on that, although that was mainly in terms of my sense of humour rather than any direct ripping.

I hope that the Liam/Mimi fans liked the ending. It was fun to write, and I know there are a few clichés in here, but what the hell. I LIKE clichés.

Okay, now onto the Thankyous!

I would like to Thank:

Eechan: the ultimate in cuteness, and my best OL friend. Ever.

Anthony: If you ever need to find out what happened in my chapters, read his reviews. He's very adept at managing to sum it all up in a single sentence.

Tamer of Light: thanks for the reviews!

Kaeera: one of the kewlest folks around, and a great writer. Check her out, cos she's MILES better than me (not difficult).

Shawna: A classy Canadian Lassy, and a kewl person, thanks for the support!

Koushirochickie: the funkiest insane pineapple on the block!

Gato goddess: Thanks for the support, and the nice reviews. Its ALWAYS appreciated.

Lita Maxwell: For wishing me a happy birthday, and being a regular reader and reviewer!

Skywolf and SSJGOKILLO: for being the first people to spot the Eddings references, and being nice reviewer-folk!

Miracles: for doing FUNKY reviews.

Vivienn: another nice reviewer.

Story Weaver1: For posting the only, and most retarded, flame on this fic. Thanks anyways!

Mistress of Anime and John: reviewer folks. Thanks!

And that does it. Finally covered EVERYONE!

I'm now going to go and collapse. Then I'm going to go and get drunk.


End file.
